Google’s interactive resolutions map: Mellow out and motivate

If you are having trouble getting back into the swing of work today (hello, friend!) then consider spending a few moments in front of Google’s interactive resolutions map, where you can see the new year’s resolutions of people around the world.

It’s nothing too fancy, just a black-and-grey zoomable map of the world with colored dots on it, indicating the different types of new year’s resolutions that users have concocted for themselves. For example, red dots are resolutions that have to do with love; yellow dots relate to health. There are a lot of yellow dots on the map. Resolving to “eat healthier� and “work out more� is apparently a common New Year’s resolution all over the world.

New Year tech: Photos

If you are feeling impatient, you can click on the dots yourself and see the resolutions that people have set for themselves in Japan (“Work three times faster�), or in Russia (“Get in shape!�). But if you are working toward slowing down in 2013 and letting things unfold at their own pace you might just sit back and watch as the resolutions reveal themselves. Sometimes they drop from the top of the map, with a phrase like “Cook my wife dinner once a week.� Other times they just pop up -- “Get a puppy!�

You are invited to ad your own new year’s resolution to the list as well. You’ll have to select the category it falls into and provide your ZIP code so Google can map it.

“Research shows that you’re more likely to achieve your resolutions if you write them down and have support,� writes Liz Wessel, associate product marketing manager, on Google’s official blog.

And besides, you may find a new year’s resolution that you can really aspire to. For example, a resolution by an anonymous person in South Africa resonated with me personally: “Work less, earn more.�

ALSO:

Google’s Eric Schmidt to visit North Korea on private trip

Apple to offer iPhone 5S in pink, yellow, blue, analyst says

Apple is testing iPhone 6, iOS 7, according to app developers