‘What’s more motivating than a punch card?’ TikTok has a new hack for keeping New Year resolutions

“What’s more motivating than a punch card?” That’s the simple idea behind a recent so-called “punch party” that creator @emiliamariehome hosted with friends.

On January 24, @emiliamariehome posted a video on TikTok of her group of friends creating punch cards (think: loyalty cards) as a Galentine’s day activity. It quickly went viral, gaining over 1.5 million views. Because whether it’s scoring a free cappuccino at your local coffee shop or a fresh loaf of bread at an independent bakery, the satisfaction from punching that final hole in a punch card is unmatched.

Now, social media users are hacking that dopamine hit to achieve their own goals, from dating to reading.

In @emiliamariehome’s video, each friend picked a goal and a reward for finishing punching all the holes on their card. One of her friends used their card as motivation to try new flower arrangements. Once they punched all four holes, they would allow themselves to buy one new vase. Another wanted to try 10 new recipes before buying another cookbook. A third promised themselves 10 croissants if they went on 10 dates (“10 croissants are needed after 10 hinge dates,” the creator joked in the comments).

In the spirit of January, the celebrated month of goal-setting, the punch cards have quickly taken off. “Love this idea,” one person commented. “Especially as someone that struggles to celebrate her wins.” Another added, “this is ridiculously cute. I am doing it.”

The New Year period is traditionally when millions take stock of how they live and set ambitious goals for the year ahead, often in terms of numbers. How many books will you read? How many exercise classes will you take? How many new recipes will you try? A recent YouGov poll found 31% of Americans said they would be making New Year’s resolutions or setting goals for 2025. But skip forward to the end of January, and a good number of those will already have given up on their goals set just a few short weeks ago.

However, small lifestyle changes can often be transformative if you keep at them. And while there are a number of habit trackers that attempt to help us do that, from Apple watches and Oura rings to meticulously planned spreadsheets and Notion templates, punch cards may be a gentler way to keep yourself accountable in 2025.