5 Simple Ways to Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions, All the Way to December
TODAY’S THE DAY MOST PEOPLE DITCH THEIR RESOLUTIONS – BUT WE’RE HERE TO HELP YOU STICK IT OUT.
We’re barely two weeks into 2024, but plenty of us are ready to put a pin in those New Year resolutions until 2025. According to a study from Strava, January 19 is the day we’re most likely to give up on that “new year, new year you” ideology, earning it the unofficial yet accurate title of “Quitters Day.”
Trust us, we get it. There’s a lot of pressure to go to wake up on January 1 and magically become the most disciplined, healthy, happy, and motivated version of yourself possible. It’s totally unrealistic (not to mention borderline impossible). If you set yourself huge expectations, it’s going to feel like a huge effort to get there – hence why we tend to give up just 19 days in.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. With the right attitude and habits, you can reach even the most impossible of tasks before the year’s out. Lucky for you, we’ve figured out the exact strategy to help you achieve your goals in 2024.
Tip 1: Turn big goals into small goals
Some of the most common New Year’s resolutions are extremely vague, and if your goals are vague, so are the paths to get there.
Say you want to “be healthier” in 2024. This can mean different things for different people, so figure out what exactly it is you want to do to be healthier – whether that’s do so many steps per day, hit the gym a certain number of times a week, limit your sugar intake, or limit yourself to ordering takeout twice a month – and make those your goals instead.
Also consider how dramatic a lifestyle change you’re making. If you’re going from an average of 500 steps a day and want to run a marathon in 2024, then that’s a pretty significant journey. Break that massive goal up into small chunks and we promise it’ll be much easier to achieve than trying to go from zero to 100 overnight (and those changes are less challenging, you’ll be far less likely to give up).
Tip 2: Habit stacking
This phrase has done the rounds on the productivity corner of TikTok and while a lot of the app’s life advice is questionable, we’ll give the app some credit this time. Habit stacking is a tried-and-tested psychological hack that involves building new habits by piggybacking on those you already practice on a day-to-day basis.
The way it works is simple. Say you want to read more in 2024. All you need to do is attach that habit onto something you already do every day, like eating dinner. Now, when you finish your dinner, you read ten pages. Or, if you want to start meditating, you make two minutes of meditation the norm after you brush your teeth each evening.
The idea is that we’ve already ingrained these habits into our brain, so it’ll take less effort to “stack” new ones on top. Once you’ve figured out those tiny targets you want to hit in Tip 1, find a way to slot them into your regular routine instead of carving out new space in your day and you’ll find yourself reaching your goals without even trying.
Tip 3: Identify your barriers
Whether you want to start or stop doing something in 2024, there’s always going to be a reason why you haven’t done it yet. Maybe you haven’t taken up that new hobby because you’re shy to go in as a total beginner. Perhaps you’re not saving money because you’re stuck in a certain spending routine. Or, you may not be able to spend less time on your phone or computer because that’s your job and you need to spend time on them to make the money you want to save more of in 2024.
If you tie yourself up in knots about how hard it is to stick to your resolution, it becomes even more tempting to give up altogether. That’s why it’s important to identify the barriers you’ll face as early as possible. Once you’ve figured out what you need to overcome, you can find alternative ways to put your resolution into practice.
For example, if you are trying to cut down on screen time in 2024 and that seems borderline impossible, try to calculate how much time you can actually afford to cut from your routine. Limit yourself to so many hours of TV a week, or swap out some of your aimless scrolling for 30 minutes of reading a day. Even if you reduce your screen time by mere minutes, you’ve still technically achieved your goal!
Tip 4: Leave room to fail
Some people mistake New Year’s resolutions for a 365 day, legally-binding contract which you can’t break and, if you do, you’re out of the deal for good.
Even the most self-disciplined people have lax days. We don’t recommend scheduling them into your routine, because that still makes it tempting to throw in the game altogether if you “cheat” on a different, unplanned day.
Think of your resolution as a marathon, not a sprint, where you’re allowed – even encouraged – to take as many rests as you want or need. As long as you keep going at some point, you’ll still end up closer to your goal than when you started.
tip: 5 Make it fun
There’s a reason why teachers bribed us with gold stars and why Duolingo gives you gems whenever you complete another Spanish lesson. We’re always motivated by positive reinforcement, and considering you know you better than anyone, you’re the perfect person to set rewards for each stage of progress.
How exactly you measure your progress depends on the exact resolution. However, if you listen to our first tip of breaking up your big goal into smaller, more achievable goals, we recommend also allocating a reward to each milestone. This can be as big or as small as you want. Make it a croissant, new book, fresh PJs, glass of wine – anything, as long as it brings you enough joy to motivate you into locking down those resolutions through 2024 and beyond.
Still struggling to make them stick?
At the end of the day, our New Year resolutions are totally self-imposed. Only you have the power to decide what you do or do not do with your year. If they’re unrealistic or causing you more stress than good, then readjust accordingly – but don’t give up just because you skip one day or don’t see results overnight.
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