New Years Resolutions for Actors
As 2026 approaches, it’s time to get clear on your vision for the New Year! Whether or not you’re a big “New Years Resolutions” person, the start of the New Year is an excellent time to do a little life audit—take stock of what you did this year, look at what worked and what didn’t, and find what you want to prioritize as you move forward to make 2026 your strongest yet.
The best kind of goals are small and achievable that you can build on over time. Start with the broad strokes of what you’re looking to accomplish overall, and narrow down concrete actions you can take from there. Looking for inspiration as you’re building out your 2026 New Years vision for your acting career? We’ve got your back. Check out our list below for ideas, starting with big picture goals and followed by the little steps you can take to see them through.
Build Community. Focus on expanding your network and deepening the connections you have. Get involved with more creative communities or independent projects! Ask questions, learn people’s stories, and share advice.
Attend 1 Networking Event a month—whether that’s a film premiere, an actor walking club, or even a small artist get-together you organize yourself.
Find a production company or actor social club you enjoy and make it a point to attend one event before January ends.
Go on 1-2 coffee dates a month with creatives you’ve worked with before or look up to. Prioritizing these little chats is a great way to learn other artists’ stories, exchange advice, and bounce creative ideas off of each other.
These coffee dates can include meeting your teachers or representation, schedules permitting. A small chat over coffee is a great way to develop a better relationship with your manager or agent, by just getting to know one another better.
Stay Active in the Slow Periods. Don’t let how much you book determine how much you create. Use those slower periods to hone your materials, develop small projects with friends, or start writing that pilot you’ve been thinking about for the last few years.
Commit to recording a new self-tape once a month (or once a week if you’re feeling bold). Hold yourself accountable with friends who will join in on the journey.
Create one independent project this year; that can be as big as a short film or as small as a funny sketch recorded on your phone at home.
For every week you don’t have a project booked or a big audition, spend an hour on a creative endeavor of your choosing. Is that writing for an hour straight, no matter what you put down on the page? Practicing your new guitar playing hobby? Can you attend an open mic night and share some poetry? Make a small step every week, even when you’re not booking or auditioning.
Stay Informed. Make this the year that you get super in-the-know on what’s happening in the industry. Read plays and acting books, watch critically acclaimed shows, and stay on track with entertainment news. Watch behind-the-scenes videos and interviews, immersing yourself in the creative process!
Find an acting industry newsletter that you can read every week to stay on track with what’s shifting in entertainment.
Commit to reading a certain number of plays, screenplays, or acting books for the year. One a month is a super achievable goal! Try replacing your phone with a book whenever you’re stuck in a waiting room or lounging on the couch.
Find a show with an actor whose work you love & try to watch all episodes before February. When you watch, make little notes on what specifically you liked about their performance. Watch interviews with them or BTS to see what the process was like. Is there anything that actor does that you can try out in your next audition or class?
Train Consistently. This is our favorite one here at Actorsite. Make this the year that you transform your acting through steady discipline and a thousand small changes that add up. Investing into your training means setting yourself up for success and investing in your career long term.
Set a daily practice for a skill you want to hone. Is that ten minutes of diction exercises in the mornings for a month? Fifteen minutes of cold reading practice before bed?
Try out one new class that challenges or even scares you; that could mean taking class from a teacher who pushes you or trying a new topic like Improv or Commercial training.
Sign up for one class a month, whether it’s a weekly class or a one-day Intensive (at Actorsite we have both… wink wink). Check out our classes for Kids/Teens and Adults to see what we’ve got on the table in the New Year!
Acting isn’t an easy gig—there’s so much to do and to work on that it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Creating a few specific goals that you can focus on as we shift into the New Year is a great way to get clear on what you want and how to achieve it, making bounds in your growth. Here’s to making 2026 the best year yet!