Tricks to actually sticking to your New Year’s Resolutions

Emma Duke, Staff Writer 

The New Year is a fantastic time to reflect, reset and consider what changes could improve our lives as young adults— making us happier, healthier, more organized—the list is extensive. A new year gives us a clean slate, and often many of us feel inspired to set goals for the upcoming year. But often, the struggle is committing to those goals and seeing them through. Fortunately, there are many researched and studied ways to make sure you can cross off those resolutions by the end of the year.

According to an Ipsos poll, almost 60 per cent of American young adults (aged 18-34) set New Year’s resolutions. Students often resolve to get more sleep, save money and be more productive. These all sound great, and if we actually did get more sleep, save more money and were more productive, we’d be better students for it.

But just because we say we’ll get eight hours of sleep this year, it doesn’t mean we’ll actually do it. A study from the Journal of Clinical Psychology found that 64 per cent of people stick to their New Year’s resolutions for the first month, 46 per cent of people are successful at the six-month mark, and only nine per cent of people make it through the whole year having kept their resolutions.

Does it mean that we shouldn’t set New Year’s resolutions because we are bound to fail? Not necessarily! It just means we may need to think more deeply about our goals and how we resolve to accomplish them. The question to consider is: what sets apart the nine per cent that do successfully make it through the whole year having kept their resolutions?

A recent episode of the TED Talks Daily podcast featured Gretchen Rubin, a bestselling author who writes about happiness and habits. Rubin says that one way to stick to your resolutions is to set your goals as concrete actions rather than vague resolutions. Resolutions like ‘exercise more’ or ‘save money’ aren’t really measurable. The more you can visualize the goal, the more likely you are to achieve it.

The key is to be specific about what you want. Maybe saving money looks like putting 25 per cent of your paycheck into savings, maybe exercising more looks like getting a gym membership and resolving to go once a week on Wednesdays at 7 p.m.

Rubin also encourages making a list that consists of 23 things you want to accomplish in 2023. She says she adds some bigger goals to the list, but also some items she knows she can check off within a short period of time. The ‘23 in 23’ list is a fun way to meet goals and track your progress throughout the year. A template for the list available on her website, gretchenrubin.com.

Here are some more ways to set realistic goals that you’ll stick to in the upcoming year, according to other experts.

Use the S.M.A.R.T. Method

S.M.A.R.T. stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. According to an article in the New York Times, your resolution for the year should be specific such as concrete actions.

It needs to be measurable, meaning you can track progress over time. For example, If your goal is to gain muscle, track your progress by taking photos. It needs to be achievable which means knowing your limits and being realistic. They need to be relevant which means considering what impact this goal will have on your life and whether or not it is actually important to you. Lastly, it needs to be time-bound, meaning it is important for your goals to be realistic time-wise as well. You might not write and publish a book in one year, but you could resolve to write for 30 minutes a day, and then you are one step closer to achieving your larger goal.

Give yourself an incentive

Tell your friends about your goals! Tell your family! Have people check-in on your progress. Alternatively, there is evidence from a study from the American Economic Association that if you put money on the line, you are more likely to accomplish your goal. Making a bet with your friend that you will pay up if you don’t stick to your resolution is a great motivator. There is even a website called Beeminder that will charge your card if you fail to keep your resolutions.

Make it easy for yourself

Setting good habits, or breaking bad ones, is much easier when you make things more or less accessible. For example, if you want to spend less time on your phone, make it less available. To break my habit of going on my phone in the morning, I plug my phone on the other side of the room overnight so that it is nowhere near my bed. Because it is more difficult to access, it makes it easier to break the habit.

On the other hand, if you want to set a habit of cycling more often, putting your bicycle in the front yard instead of in the garage will save you a few minutes in the morning and make it easier for you to go on a ride!

Though the statistics on keeping New Year’s resolutions might seem grim or bring up feelings of hopelessness, the aforementioned methods are proven to help your goals stick. By being more intentional about your goals, you might just become a part of the nine per cent who have succeeded in keeping their New Year’s resolutions by the end of the year.