Google Calendar is an excellent tool for planning your schedule, but it has plenty of other uses beyond that. For example, if you've made some New Year's Resolutions, you could use the app to monitor your progress to ensure you stay on track.

But if you're using Google Calendar for your big goals for the first time, you might find it hard to know where to start. Nevertheless, you should not worry because we will help you get things going today.

So, let's dive into how you can use Google Calendar to track your New Year's resolutions.

Can You Still Use the Goals Feature for Your New Year's Resolutions in Google Calendar?

Woman texting on iPhone outdoors

Google introduced the Goals feature in 2016. When it came out, the tool was an excellent option for keeping track of things you wanted to do—along with stopping other events from clashing.

Unfortunately, Google has since removed that feature. And in 2022, it officially pulled Goals from its apps.

If you already made goals, you can still see these—but they'll no longer appear as recurring events. The feature was previously available on iOS and Android, but you must now find alternatives for staying on top of everything.

Tracking Your New Year's Resolutions in Google Calendar

Even though you can no longer use the Goals feature in Google Calendar, you still won't need to find an alternative app for tracking your New Year's resolutions.

Here's how to stay on top of your goals inside the Google Calendar app. Best of all, these tips will apply whether you use Android, iOS, macOS, or Windows.

1. Set Up Recurring Tasks

One of the most useful Goals features is the ability to build a habit by finding time for the things you want to do. Although you can't use this anymore, Google Calendar still gives you something similar to it with recurring tasks and events.

You can use recurring tasks for multiple kinds of goals. For example, if you want to go to the gym at least thrice weekly, you can set up a recurring event for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week.

Similarly, if you want to eat healthier, you can include recurring events for cooking nutritious meals each day. Alternatively, you can block a couple of hours on your weekend and meal prep for the entire week ahead.

Here's how to set up a recurring task in Google Calendar:

  1. Go to Create and select Event or Task; it doesn't really matter which one you choose.
    Create Event Task Google Calendar Web Screenshot
  2. In your event or task, add a name and choose when you want it to occur. Where you see Does not repeat, expand the dropdown menu.
    Schedule Workout Google Calendar Screenshot
  3. In this instance, we've picked Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
    Set Days for Recurring Tasks Google Calendar Screenshot
  4. Select Save once you've added everything.

With that, you get reminders right on your Google Calendar that you've got to work on your New Year's resolutions.

2. Add Deadlines for Your Goals

Setting your goals is one thing, but taking action to achieve them is another. Setting strict- but attainable- deadlines is the best way to ensure that you show up and do the work.

You must create a deadline that will work for you—but it requires much effort. The timescale should be big enough; you can't expect to go from 0 to 500,000 YouTube subscribers in one day, for example. But simultaneously, you want to make it challenging enough that you'll actually put in serious effort.

Adding deadlines in Google Calendar is simple. Here's how:

  1. Go to Create > Event to begin with.
  2. After adding the name for your deadline, click on your date, and you'll see the calendar view appear.
  3. Pick your new deadline; you can type it in if you don't want to scroll through the mini calendar.
    Set Deadline in Google Calendar Screenshot
  4. When you've set your goal, click on the Save button.

By setting deadlines for your goals, you ensure you achieve the things you want this year. And remember, you should break down large goals into smaller, more attainable chunks. That way, your targets won't feel overwhelming and unattainable.

3. Use the Note-Taking Feature in Google Calendar

You might have heard of other note-taking apps like Notion and Evernote. Apple Notes is another popular option. There's nothing wrong with any of these, but keeping everything in one app is a good idea if you want a better chance of sticking to your New Year's resolutions.

Google Calendar has a note-taking tool that you'll find helpful in numerous situations. You can even use Google Calendar as a personal journal if you want to spend more time writing and examining your thoughts and experiences.

On top of that, Google Calendar's note-taking feature lets you jot down anything directly relating to your progress—such as seeing if these tips for getting more freelancing clients are actually working for you.

Here's how to take down notes using Google Calendar.

  1. Find the Keep option in the right menu bar in Google Calendar. Click on it to expand it.
  2. Choose the option close to the top called Take a note.
    Google Keep in Google Calendar Screenshot
  3. You can start typing your thoughts, notes, or whatever you want in the new note that will appear. When you're finished, select Done.
    Select Done Google Keep Note Screenshot

You can pin your note to the top by clicking that icon. And if you want to add more text later, you can click on it to edit it.

Google Keep Create New Note in Google Calendar Screenshot

With this tool, you should be able to stick more to your writing-related goals. Whether you're doing this to track your goals, record your ideas, or simply keep a memory of your thoughts and emotions, you can do it directly right on Google Calendar.

4. Schedule Regular Check-Ins

Setting up your New Year's resolutions and taking action are two essential things to do to achieve your goals. But as you go along on your journey, it's also important to schedule regular check-ins. As you obtain more information and learn more about how your field works, you might need to make minor tweaks to ensure that you stay on the right track.

Regularly checking in with yourself will also help you identify if something is holding you back—such as a poorly-optimized sleep routine. During your check-ins, you can use Google Keep to take notes; these will automatically integrate with Google Calendar. Alternatively, you can use another note-taking app.

To schedule regular check-ins, you can set up a recurring event. You can decide how frequently you want these to occur when you're there. Once per week is not a bad idea, but you can also set up your check-ins every two or four weeks.

Set Up Check-Ins in Google Calendar Screenshot

You can decide how long you want your check-ins to be, but we'd recommend 15-30 minutes as a rough guideline if you're a beginner.

Keep Track of Your Goals With Google Calendar

Setting New Year's resolutions is an ideal starting point, but many people fall short because they don't act toward their goals. Much of the reason they don't move forward is that they don't have a system in place for tracking their progress, and they also don't schedule a time to work toward their goals. You can mitigate both of those problems by using Google Calendar.

Although you can no longer use the Goals feature in Google Calendar, that doesn't matter; you'll find plenty of alternative options on Google Calendar. You can set up recurring tasks to ensure that you reach your objectives, add deadlines, and schedule regular check-ins.