This cute, crafty life hack could help you knock out your 2026 goals

Handmade punch cards are trending on TikTok as a cute, visual way to track 2026 goals. 

Modeled after the punch cards that will secure you a free coffee or sandwich after showing loyalty to one café or another, they’re meant to instead get punched, stamped, or checked off, one square at a time, whenever you make progress on your goals, whether that’s staying consistent at the gym, completing a no-spend weekend, or paying down debt. 

“Today’s New Year’s Eve, and I made these little punch cards this morning of goals I have for myself starting this new year,” TikTok user @camiunderthesea said in a video showing off her deck of cards. “The first one is to read five books. I’ve been trying to get into reading more, and I just can’t do it, so hopefully this will motivate me. 

She continued: “The way it works, if I read a book, I punch it out. When I have all five, I get a treat.”

Another TikTok user, @aleegatorrr, set herself the goals of going on 12 hikes this year, a date night once a month, and baking eight new recipes.

This isn’t a new trend; it first surfaced in early 2025. But it has once again been embraced as a way to visually track goals and turn vague resolutions like “go to the gym” or “stop doomscrolling” into measurable habits. 

One week into 2026, and there are more than 200 videos under the hashtag #2026punchcards.

There are a few tutorials online, but the process is simple enough: All it takes is a few index or blank business cards, markers, and a hole punch. 

Make a list of some obtainable goals for the year. With a marker, title each card with a goal and draw as many punch spots as you hope to achieve. Add rewards across the bottom and jazz up the cards with borders and/or illustrations. 

Punch a small hole in the top-left corner and tie them all together with a ribbon to keep them close at hand as you successfully check off your goals throughout the year. 

You may not get a free cappuccino. But you might actually make it to the gym three times a week.