A lot of the time New Year’s resolutions are a bit too ambitious.

If you want to read 50 books or travel the world in the new year, go for it. But life is extremely chaotic, so this year I’ve decided to set far more realistic goals. Instead of setting out to do one huge thing in the new year, not getting around to it, and feeling like you’ve failed yourself, try making some extremely simple resolutions that’ll still make you feel great.

If you’re searching for the perfect resolution, here are 20 totally doable ones to consider. Most of our suggestions can even be completed in a single day, so you could probably go full-on overachiever and tackle all 20 with ease.

1. Watch a good movie

2src extremely simple New Year's resolutions that you can easily achieve

There are a whole lot of movies in the world, and they’re definitely not all worth your time. Instead of blindly choosing at the box office or playing a game of streaming roulette, do some research to ensure you treat yourself to a movie that people actually like. Give an award-nominated film a try or check out Rotten Tomatoes’ guide of the Top 100 Movies of All Time and our list of best 2019 movies for suggestions.

2. Drink more water

It is — and I can’t stress this enough — super important to hydrate! Unfortunately, drinking enough water is easy to forget. Trust me. Occasionally I make it to 2:00 p.m. and realize I haven’t had a single sip. But if you make an honest effort to drink more water, as I recently did, it becomes easier and easier. If you haven’t already, try investing in a reusable water bottle. Filling those things up throughout the day is a blast. Feels great.

3. Use your phone less

Setting limits on how many hours you use your phone is tricky, because the need to text, tweet, or be plugged in varies each day. If you want to use your phone less, try cutting down on scrolling social media right before bed or checking it right when you wake up.

SEE ALSO: Everything coming to Hulu in January 2020

4. Read one book a month

Reading more is a common resolution, but you don’t have to go HAM and set a 50-book minimum. Set out to read at least one non-online article every month. It can be a novel, a comic book, a full magazine, whatever! If you want to read more, that’s great. Anything else will be a bonus.

5. Watch the pilot of a TV show or two that you’ve been meaning to see

There are an overwhelming amount of TV shows in the world today, so it’s hard to keep up with the latest and greates

Orléans community grapples with closure of EarlyON playgroup

The Charlemagne EarlyON Child and Family Centre is the second such facility operated by the Ottawa Catholic School Board in Orléans to close since September.

By Natasha Baldin

Published Nov 20, 2025

Last updated Nov 24, 2025

3 minute read

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St. Peter High School. — The Charlemagne EarlyON Child and Family Centre, operating out of St. Peter Catholic High School, has announced it will shut its doors on Nov. 30. Photo by JEAN LEVAC /POSTMEDIA

With a long-running Orléans playgroup set to close at the end of November, many families are worried about a growing gap in free early-learning programs in Ottawa’s east end.

The Charlemagne EarlyON Child and Family Centre, which operates out of St. Peter Catholic High School, has announced it will shut its doors on Nov. 30. The free drop-in playgroup offers learning programs for children up to six years old.

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For Dominique Patnaik, who has attended the play group for three years with her two daughters, the closure comes as an unexpected blow.

“Everybody felt it because it is such a big part of our weekly lives, and it’s provided us with so much … that we all feel like there’s going to be a hole in our lives when the centre closes,” Patnaik said.

The Ottawa Catholic School Board said it made the decision to close the EarlyON program after determining the space was needed for classrooms to support enrolment growth at the high school.

“Families have shared how meaningful this program has been for their children and for their sense of community, and we recognize the worry this has created for those who use the centre,” the school board wrote in a statement.

The Charlemagne centre is the second OCSB-operated EarlyON facility in Orléans to close in recent months. Another program at Divine Infant Elementary School shut down in September.

Until now, Orléans centres offered as many as 57 hours of weekly English or bilingual playgroup sessions. With the closures of the two sites, parents estimate this will drop to just 15 hours weekly.

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“We’re very concerned that there will be no alternative for a lot of parents and young children to go to different playgroups,” said Claudie Larouche, a parent who is helping organize efforts to try to save the Charlemagne playgroup.

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More than 1,100 people have signed a petition urging the City of Ottawa and the Catholic school board to preserve the playgroup, if not in its current location, then in a suitable space nearby.

Pressure on remaining playgroups is expected to intensify. While another EarlyON centre remains open nearby on Centrum Boulevard, Patnaik said demand was already greater than capacity, with parents lining up outside before programs begin.

Larouche added the remaining sites may also be less accessible for families who rely on public transit.

For many families, the Charlemagne EarlyON played an especially vital role because of its supportive staff, daily drop-in schedule and baby class offerings.

Twylla Hodgins said Charlemagne centre staff gave her the resources to seek support from a speech-language specialist for her granddaughter.

With a long-running Orléans playgroup set to close at the end of November, many families are worried about a growing gap in free early-learning programs in Ottawa’s east end.

Story continues below

For Dominique Patnaik, who has attended the play group for three years with her two daughters, the closure comes as an unexpected blow.

The Ottawa Catholic School Board said it made the decision to close the EarlyON program after determining the space was needed for classrooms to support enrolment growth at the high school.

The Charlemagne centre is the second OCSB-operated EarlyON facility in Orléans to close in recent months. Another program at Divine Infant Elementary School shut down in September.

Until now, Orléans centres offered as many as 57 hours of weekly English or bilingual playgroup sessions. With the closures of the two sites, parents estimate this will drop to just 15 hours weekly.

Story continues below

OCDSB supervisor holding ‘town halls’ while trustees are sidelined
Deachman: Ottawa 200 just hype for now, needs more party
Advertisement 1

Story continues below

More than 1,100 people have signed a petition urging the City of Ottawa and the Catholic school board to preserve the playgroup, if not in its current location, then in a suitable space nearby.

Larouche added the remaining sites may also be less accessible for families who rely on public transit.

For many families, the Charlemagne EarlyON played an especially vital role because of its supportive staff, daily drop-in schedule and baby class offerings.

Twylla Hodgins said Charlemagne centre staff gave her the resources to seek support from a speech-language specialist for her granddaughter.

“I needed a supportive community and the Charlemagne EarlyON became that community for us. I relied on the staff and the other parents to be my network to support me and the children in my care to lay a safe, caring, empathic, and inclusive foundation,” Hodgins wrote in an email.

Orléans-West Innes Coun. Laura Dudas addressed the playgroup closure in a social-media post on Tuesday, stating she confirmed with the head of children’s services at the City of Ottawa that funding previously allocated to the closed centres would stay in the east end.

“Their short-term goal is to maintain access to these vital programs as quickly as possible by increasing capacity at a nearby EarlyON locations so families continue to have access to these high-quality programs and resources,” Dudas wrote.

She added the city was also exploring longer-term solutions to keep playgroup services in the east end and would consider proposals for new locations in the new year.

But, for parents such as Patnaik, the need to fill the gap created by Charlemagne’s closure is immediate.

“Even if another centre opens up in six months, that’s six months of parents having to pivot and trying to find something to do,” she said. “I think it’s going to have a detrimental impact. We need a solution right away.”

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20 extremely simple New Year’s resolutions that you can easily achieve

1. Watch a good movie

2. Drink more water

3. Use your phone less

4. Read one book a month

5. Watch the pilot of a TV show or two that you’ve been meaning to see

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