Button Up 2026: How the 365 Buttons Trend is Turning New Year’s Resolutions into Daily Wins

A fresh, feel-good approach to goals and intentions.

by Maggie Foster ★ January 8th, 2026

Photo Credit: Maggie Foster

As each new year comes along, social feeds will have lists: “10 ways to upgrade your life in the new year,” "new habits to change everything,” “Goals to crush in 365 days.” But in 2026, a softer, more meaningful trend has emerged from the noise. One that’s less about dramatic life makeovers and more about daily small wins, the true goal of the new year. 

Meet the 365 Buttons trend: the idea of using one button for every day of the year. Whether it’s a real button, a journal sticker, or a digital marker, each one serves as a visual reminder of your intentions, small joys, progress, reflection, or even setbacks worth appreciating. It’s playful, tactile and a refreshing alternative to rigid resolutions that usually fizzle out by February.

For decades, New Year’s resolutions have been a tradition, yet many people struggle to maintain them long term. While some stick with their goals, a significant number lose momentum within the first few months of the year.. 

There are a few familiar difficulties associated with resolutions: vague goals, unrealistic expectations and relying solely on willpower without real support. Resolutions are hard because people crave immediate satisfaction, so future-oriented plans often lose their appeal as daily life resumes.

What I have found is that the most effective ways to keep your goals are when they prioritize intentions, missions and emotional well-being over just checking off boxes. 

The 365 buttons trend fits right into this evolving mindset. It is not about punishing yourself for skipping the gym or failing to read hundreds of books. It’s about tracking nuance, celebrating micro-wins and gentle reflection on your journey instead of strict year-long commitments. The buttons make goals specific and meaningful, break changes into tiny habits that connect with your daily life, marking habits with pleasure, and focus on intentions, not perfection. They mark consistency, helping you notice the days you showed up, the days you paused and the days you felt proud of living intentionally. 

So, how do you start? There are many variations of what your “button” can be. You could actively write on pieces of paper about something that brings you joy every day, or use different tokens instead of buttons. You could assign meanings to different buttons and track how you felt every day of the year. 

This trend taps into something bigger than a social media aesthetic. People in 2026 are leaning into mental health-forward resolutions, real connections slow growth over perfection. Instead of beating ourselves up for not crushing January goals, we’re learning to notice small, meaningful moments that actually shape the year. 

What if 2026 was not the year you finally fixed everything, but the year you noticed everything a bit more deeply? Maybe the 365 buttons aren’t just another trend, but a small practice you carry with you, one that quietly reshapes how you move through each day. Not through rigid to-dos, but through simple, tangible reminders that life’s moments count, button by button.

Edited by: Maia Simmons