Confession: I enjoy setting resolutions more than I like keeping them. Some years I get rather elaborate with my schemes. If you're picturing a March Madness-like flow chart, you're not that far off.

Of course the trouble with elaborate resolutions is that they don't stick. For this reason I'm proposing a new resolution for my resolutions: simplicity.

I wrote earlier that I was intrigued by this easy idea to simplify Christmas gift-giving. What if, I wondered, we could use a similar simple approach for resolution-setting for our families? Here's what it could look like:

For 2022, choose:

• one way to Serve
• one way to Celebrate
• one way to Make Mornings Special
• one way to Connect

Simple, right? Here's a quick breakdown of each:

• One way to serve: could be one way to serve weekly or monthly, or just one time during the year. I'm resisting the urge to be overly ambitious and will choose the later.
• One way to celebrate: New birthday tradition? Weekly game night? Special reward for reconciling after an argument? The sky's the limit. My favorite ideas elevate everyday, small wins (ex. I worked out!), but I also like the option to create my own random family holiday just for fun (ex. March 23 will hereby become our annual family bowl-a-thon).
• One way to make mornings special: Add a fresh-scented foot scrub in the shower, a 5-minute snuggle session before getting up, or an inspiring wake-up song. The key to this resolution is to make it an everyday thing. Note: if you're not already doing morning devotions, this would be a great thing to resolve here.
• One way to Connect: Ideas for this could be a weekly family dinner or game night, a question and answer game for car rides, or a one-time special date with spouses or kids. For me, the trick to keeping this one is to put it on the calendar like an appointment.

Try it! Print this quick worksheet and spend 30 minutes brainstorming ideas for your family for 2022. Then sit down during New Year's Eve or New Year's Day and talk about which ideas are family favorites.

What are your thoughts about this super simple resolution-setting idea? Will you try it this year, or do you have something else planned? Share your comments below.