--- description: This year I resolve to… Hold on a second. Let’s not join the lemmings who screw this up every year. 88% of people fail to... title: 9 Steps to New Year’s Resolutions That Last Longer Than New Year’s Day image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c98046f85344413/698777a0a988ca45c46aba65/january-new-year-resolution.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Psychology](/tag/psychology/) ## Psychology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 9 Steps to New Year’s Resolutions That Last Longer Than New Year’s Day by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 1, 2015 5:01 AM CUT  New Years resolution pinboard New Years resolution pinboardGetty Images by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 1, 2015 5:01 AM CUT [_This year I resolve to…_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/07/what-are-proven-tips-that-will-help-you-achie/ "undefined") **Hold on a second. Let’s not join the lemmings who screw this up every year.** 88% of people [fail to achieve their New Year’s Resolutions.](http://www.quirkology.com/UK/Experiment%5Fresolution.shtml "undefined") There is a ton of science on this subject so if we want to do New Year’s Resolutions, let’s do them right. ## First, Stop Fantasizing Do fantasies give you the energy to achieve your goals? Nope. [**Fantasies steal the energy you need to achieve your goals**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/10/does-fantasizing-give-you-the-motivation-to-a/ "undefined")**:** --- > “” --- You’re getting the reward before you’ve done the work and this kills your motivation. Don’t celebrate on mile 3 of the marathon. Itching to express something about your resolution? No problem: **Write your goals down.** Writing about goals [makes you happier](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-should-you-write-about-if-you-want-to-in "undefined") and makes you [more likely to follow through with them](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-little-thing-can-increase-the-chance-peo "undefined"). Now it’s time to grit your teeth and get to work? Wrong. ## Willpower Is Limited **Relying on self-control only is a sucker’s bet.** Roy Baumeister, author of the bestseller [Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143122231/?tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined"), explained in our [interview](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/06/increase-willpower/ "undefined"): --- > “” --- You are not going to muscle through with willpower. You cannot sprint for miles. Change takes planning and strategy. So what’s the first step? ## New Year’s Resolution — _Singular_ How to conserve that limited resource of willpower? **Conquer one resolution at a time.** This way you exert less willpower and concentrate what you have. Roy [recommends this specifically](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/06/increase-willpower/ "undefined"): --- > “” --- What else works? **Making something habitual means you don’t have to exert willpower.** You spend [40% of every day on autopilot](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-much-of-the-day-do-we-spend-on-autopilot "undefined"), just performing habits and it’s not exhausting at all. Here’s [Roy again](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/06/increase-willpower/ "undefined"): --- > “” --- So how do you get the ball rolling when trying to start a new good habit? ## Minimum Viable Effort It’s okay to be a little lazy at first. Literally, just do the minimum. **The key to new good habits is to do the minimum and be consistent.** Stanford researcher BJ Fogg calls it “Minimum Viable Effort”: The first step is crucial — keep it tiny. Do not be ambitious yet. That leads to failure. Consistency is what you’re shooting for here so make the hurdle as low as possible. **In fact, make it so low you’ll feel stupid that you were unable to do something that literally would have taken** **_seconds_** **.** But what if you want to get rid of a bad habit? Well, that’s different… ## Replace, Not Kill **The secret to breaking bad habits is to not try to eliminate them but** [**to replace them**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-the-secret-to-breaking-bad-habits-forev "undefined")**.** **The first step is awareness.** That cigarette doesn’t magically appear in your mouth. [Noticing yourself acting habitually](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-you-dramatically-change-peoples-behavior "undefined") is a big first step. **Next is find your trigger.** What starts you down the road to that habit? _I get stressed and then I eat. I get bored and then I want a cigarette._ **Next is replace.** What are you going to do now when that trigger arises? Establish something new to take the place of the old habit. Charles Duhigg, author of [The Power of Habit](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400069289/?tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined"), explains the whole process: Sounds challenging, right? What can make this easier? ## Make A Plan Richard Wiseman did [a study of people who achieved their resolutions](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/07/what-are-proven-tips-that-will-help-you-achie/ "undefined") and found that **people who succeeded had a plan.** He sums up the results in under a minute here: “_But planning is hard…_“, you say. Want a powerful but passive way to increase your chance of success? Get ready to move some furniture. ## Manipulate Context **Manipulate your environment so as to** [**make what you should do easy and what you shouldn’t do hard.**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/04/whats-the-most-effective-way-to-change-you-be/ "undefined") You can resist bad habits by [avoiding the triggers](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-can-we-resist-our-bad-habits "undefined") that make you want to do them. [Context is key](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/01/what-did-heroin-addiction-during-the-vietnam/ "undefined"). **Change your environment so you don’t have to exert self-control.** Throw out the donuts. Hide the booze. This has been shown [to be very powerful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-did-heroin-addiction-during-the-vietnam "undefined"). Via [Habit](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LB5J14/?tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined"): --- > “” --- If you can make good habits take 20 seconds less time to perform and bad habits 20 seconds longer, [you’ll likely see big changes in your behavior](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/06/is-the-20-second-rule-the-key-to-being-your-b/ "undefined"). Adding things to your environment can be a big help too: **Reminders to do the right thing (like** [**signs**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-does-it-take-to-improve-your-behavior "undefined") **or even** [**text messages**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-text-messages-make-you-healthier-and-rich "undefined")**) work.** ## Superfriends Context isn’t just inanimate objects. **Friends are** [**one of our biggest influences**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/06/are-your-friends-the-easiest-route-to-self-im/ "undefined") **and can be** [**a potent tool for habit change**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/03/whats-the-key-to-radically-changing-your-life/ "undefined")**.** Via [100 Simple Secrets of Happy Families](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC1PHK/?tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined"): --- > “” --- From Charles Duhigg’s excellent book [The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400069289/?tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined"): --- > “” --- But how do we sustain all this? ## It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over Ironically, studies show saying “I’ll never do that again” [makes you even more likely to do that again](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-saying-ill-never-do-that-again-make-you "undefined"). **Expect to fumble.** It’s okay. In Richard Wiseman’s [study of people who achieved their goals](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/07/what-are-proven-tips-that-will-help-you-achie/ "undefined") he realized we should: --- > “” --- So you say you’re not going to eat cookies. Then you accidentally eat a cookie. That’s not when the diet is blown. **The diet is blown when you eat the one cookie and say “So much for that resolution” —** **_and then devour the rest of the bag._** Don’t get discouraged. There are so many tools to help you. (“If-then” scenarios are [one of the most powerful tools](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-are-two-tricks-to-making-good-habits-sti "undefined") for resisting triggers. [Commitment Devices](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/what-are-the-two-steps-for-beating-procrastin/ "undefined") work too.) **Overall, use** [**baby steps**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-can-you-easily-start-good-habits "undefined")**, focus on** [**consistency**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whats-an-excellent-productivity-secret-we-can "undefined") **above all else and** [**reward**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-can-we-learn-about-self-control-from-suc "undefined") **yourself for “**[**small wins**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-small-wins-the-secret-to-conquering-procr "undefined")**.** **”** This post is over but the challenge isn’t. This weekend I’ll be following up with more resources for sticking to your New Year’s Resolutions in [my weekly email](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD "undefined"). If [Cookie Monster can improve his habits](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/12/ways-to-increase-willpower/ "undefined"), so can we. **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/12/new-years-resolutions/ "undefined")**_._** **Join 45K+ readers and sign up for my** weekly update [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD "undefined"). Related posts: [8 Things The World’s Most Successful People All Have In Common](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/12/successful-people/ "undefined") [How To Make Your Life Better By Sending Five Simple Emails](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/make-your-life-better/ "undefined") [What 10 things should you do every day to improve your life?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/what-10-things-should-you-do-every-day-to-imp/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3650052/keep-new-year-resolutions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3650052/keep-new-year-resolutions/"},"headline":"9 Steps to New Year’s Resolutions That Last Longer Than New Year’s Day","datePublished":"2015-01-01T05:01:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:06:30.855Z","description":"This year I resolve to… Hold on a second. 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