Did you know that by the end of January, two out of three people will have abandoned their New Year’s resolution? It’s a familiar story. We storm out of the blocks with energy and enthusiasm, declaring our intent… but before we know it we’re back into our old ways.
So, how do you ensure you’re the one out of three people who do make their resolution stick? Find out in this article.
With these common-sense strategies, tips and hacks, you’ll have everything you need to ensure your New Year’s resolution makes it into February and beyond.
Set specific goals
Too many people set themselves up to fail by having goals that are too broad and vague. They declare their intent to ‘get in shape’ or ‘be more productive’. These are admirable goals, but what do they actually look like? Without a clear way of measuring your progress, it’s all too easy to get stuck, demotivated or overwhelmed and slip back into your old habits.
Take a look below. See how making each vague goal more specific makes it much easier to focus on.
Lose weight > Fit into that pair of jeans you’ve ‘outgrown’
Exercise more > Do an hour of cardio and an hour of strength training every week
Get fit > Complete a half-marathon
Eat better > Eat 5 portions of fruit and veg every day, or reduce takeaways to once a month
Be more productive > Reduce the time it takes to complete certain tasks by half
Make more money > Earn £3,000 more than last year
Save more money > Put £100 per month into a savings account
You get the idea. There are endless ways to make goals more specific. The key is to make it something you can easily measure.
Dream big, start small
Big ambitions are good. Shoot for the stars by all means. Just don’t expect to reach them by next week.
It can be demotivating thinking about your ultimate aim if you’re nowhere near it yet. For example, if you get out of breath walking up a flight of stairs, the idea of doing a half-marathon may feel so far away that you simply give up. But starting with the small goal of, say, 2km, then building from there, is much more palatable.
If your goal is to save £100 per month, maybe start with £20, then build it up. Likewise, if you want to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, maybe start with one or two pieces.
Breaking it down into small steps also enables you to make adjustments as you progress. It gives you a clear focus and provides those little boosts of motivation when you complete each step.
Make a plan
We’ve talked about the what of your New Year’s resolution. That’s the easy bit. The big thing is the how. What will you actually do to achieve your goal?
There are a million different answers to this question. It depends on your goals, lifestyle, circumstances, strengths and characteristics. But there are a few key things to consider.
When will you work on your goal?
If your goal is something that’s going to take time out of your day, such as exercising, making more money, engaging in a hobby or spending more time with someone, you need to pinpoint exactly when it’ll happen. Look at your weekly schedule, decide where you’re going to fit it around your other commitments, and ringfence this time.
How will you make it enjoyable?
Your goals will be 10x easier if you can achieve it with things you enjoy. If you want to make more money, what sort of side hustles could you do that are related to your interests? If you want to eat healthier, it’s essential to find healthy meals and snacks that you find delicious.
How will you gain more skills and knowledge?
Repeating what you did in the past rarely leads to better results. Self-improvement means being open to new ways of thinking and doing things. But this doesn’t happen on its own. All kinds of resources empower you to achieve your goals. Choose the ones that suit you.
- Books and magazines
- Digital resources like blogs, websites, social media accounts, YouTube channels and online courses
- Local groups and workshops
- Services provided by organisations like Active Luton that support you in things like healthy lifestyles and fitness programmes.
Make sure you write down your plans. Even this simple act makes it more likely you’ll stick to them.
Be accountable
You’ve made your plans, you know what you need to do and when. For some people, that’s all they need. But others need that extra support to resist the pull of old habits.
One of the best ways is to get other people involved. If it’s a fitness resolution, it’s much easier to stay focussed if you have a training buddy to spur you on. And sharing your goals with family and friends not only gains their support and encouragement, but it gives you that extra push as you don’t want to be seen to fail. You could even share your goal on social media to create that extra bit of social pressure, but only if it isn’t going to cause you too much stress.
You can also use technology to keep you on track. Accountability apps can track all sorts of things, from exercise and spending to how you use apps and websites. These are a great way to keep you on the right path. There are even apps that allow you to put money away until you reach a specified goal, and appoint a relative or friend as a ‘referee’.
Hack your brain
Our brains are lazy. They don’t like adjusting to new routines. It’s just the way they’re wired unfortunately. Research shows it takes around 10 weeks for new behaviours to become habits (so you’ll need to keep plugging away until March before it becomes automatic).
That’s quite a long time to keep up the conscious effort to make improvements. And if your willpower is starting to wane, you may need to turn to ‘hacks’ to stop yourself slipping back to old ways.
Little tricks like these nudge us back into line just as we start to falter. For example, if you’re worried you can’t resist raiding the biscuit tin, simply replace the biscuits with fruit so you don’t give yourself the option to fail. Here are some other examples:
- Put your exercise gear somewhere you simply can’t ignore it. In front of a door, or even hanging over the TV if you must.
- Leave post-it notes around your home with motivational quotes, reminders of your targets or how far you've progressed. Whatever keeps you going.
- Set alarms on your phone for when you need to exercise, drink water, complete a task or do whatever you need to do for your goal.
- Change your phone screensaver so it’s a constant reminder.
- Exterminate distractions. Binge-watching and doom-scrolling are easy and comfortable and help us avoid the effort of working on our goals. But if you’re struggling to limit yourself to an hour or so a day, it may be time to delete Netflix and/or social media apps. Yes, it will be painful at first, but you’ll be amazed by how much more you can accomplish.
Don’t forget to be kind to yourself
None of us are robots or Spartan warriors who would literally rather die than show weakness. There will be days when things just don’t click and we simply need a break. And that’s OK.
One or two missed days don’t mean you’ve failed your New Year’s resolution. So don’t be too hard on yourself and accept that some weeks, you might only move a few inches closer to your goal.
Try to avoid comparing yourself to others. Even someone with a similar goal to you will have a wildly different journey. Your starting points will be different, as will the amount of time and resources you can dedicate to your goals. So your rate of progress will be different, but that doesn’t mean you’re doing any better or worse.
Finally, don’t be afraid to celebrate your success - at every stage, not just your end goal. If you’ve broken your goal down into small steps, every one of those is a milestone you’ve worked hard to achieve. Even the act of committing to self-improvement is something you should be proud of. So yes, give yourself that treat, whatever it is. You’ve earned it.