Winter Arc Wallpaper: Make Your Own Lock Screen

The best Winter Arc wallpaper is not a moody mountain photo. It is your own rules and dates, on the screen you look at more than any other. Make one for free in about two minutes.

What makes a good Winter Arc wallpaper

You probably unlock your phone dozens of times a day. Each of those moments is a small reminder, and a lock screen that shows your actual plan turns them into check-ins. A good Winter Arc wallpaper has four things:

• Your dates. "Oct 1 – Dec 29" makes the finish line concrete. If you are not sure which dates to use, see when the Winter Arc starts.
• Your daily rules. Three to six short lines you can answer with a yes or no tonight.
• A short motto. One line you would say to yourself on a tired morning.
• A clear top area. The clock and notifications sit at the top of a lock screen, so the text has to start lower down.

Three styles to choose from

Each wallpaper uses the same layout: dates at the top of the text block, your numbered rules, then your motto. Only the background changes.

Swipe to see all three styles

How the generator makes it

1. Pick your rules. Tap suggestions or write your own. Up to seven rules fit on the wallpaper; for more ideas, browse the Winter Arc rule ideas.
2. Set your dates. Choose October 1 or today, then a length of 60, 75, 90 or 120 days. The start and end dates are printed on the image.
3. Add a motto. Optional, and it goes under your rules in italics.
4. Choose a style. Aurora, Dawn or Minimal, under "Wallpaper style" next to the preview.
5. Tap "Lock-screen wallpaper". The image is drawn in your browser and saved as a 1179 by 2556 pixel PNG, a tall size that suits modern phones. The top third is kept empty so the clock never covers your rules.

On most phones a share sheet opens. Choose Save Image (iPhone) or save to your photos or files (Android). On a computer, the PNG downloads to your usual downloads folder.

Set it as your lock screen

iPhone

1. Open the Photos app and find the saved wallpaper.
2. Tap the Share button, then scroll down and tap Use as Wallpaper.
3. Check that the clock sits above your dates, then tap Add or Done and follow the prompts to set it for the lock screen.

Android

1. Open your gallery or Google Photos and find the saved wallpaper.
2. Tap the three-dot menu, then Use as or Set as wallpaper.
3. Choose Lock screen (or both screens), adjust the crop, and confirm.

Menu names vary by phone maker and Android version. If you cannot find the option in your gallery, open Settings, search for "wallpaper", and pick the image from there.

Winter Arc wallpaper for PC, 4K and widescreen

To be straight about it: this generator makes phone wallpapers. The image is portrait and 1179 by 2556 pixels, which looks sharp on a phone but is not a 4K desktop image. You can still set it on a computer. On a wide monitor, pick a fit option that shows the whole image, and it will sit in the middle with bars at the sides. It looks best on a monitor turned vertically. For a desk, the printable contract may work better: print it from the generator and pin it next to your screen.

Ideas for what to put on it

• Rules with numbers. "Read 10 pages" beats "read more." You should be able to glance at a rule and know if it is done.
• Your hardest rule first. The first line gets read the most. Put the rule you are most likely to skip there.
• A miss policy. Leave "Never miss twice" on. It is the line that matters on the day after a bad day.
• A motto in your own words. Short and plain works best, such as "Quiet work. Loud results." or "Do it tired."
• Fewer lines, bigger text. Five rules read easily at a glance. Seven is the limit before it starts to feel like a to-do list.

Once the wallpaper is set, check off each day in the Winter Arc tracker. New to the idea? Start with what the Winter Arc is.

Make your wallpaper

Write your rules, set your dates, pick a style, and save a lock screen you will see every time you reach for your phone. The same page also gives you a signed contract to print.

Make my Winter Arc wallpaper