New year, same struggles: How to make resolutions that actually work

Every January, it seems like everyone’s thinking one of two things: “I can’t wait to work on my New Year’s resolution!” or “I can’t believe anyone still makes New Year’s resolutions.”

“It’s kind of hard to set yourself to one goal, especially [during] one of the busiest times of the year,” said OH junior Alex Rausch, in an AVID class which talks about goal-setting.

It’s always good to self-reflect, and resolutions remind people to do that, but they aren’t always that helpful.

“People will [make resolutions] just because it’s in culture and not because they actually want to make the change,” said Jessica Kawulia, an OH Social Studies teacher.

Going about life with the mindset of “getting to it next year” can cause a lot of issues, which make New Year’s resolutions ineffective. 

“For [some] people, it might just be a thing of procrastination and putting it off, and maybe it never gets done,” said OH AP Psychology teacher Anne Sweeney.

Another issue is saving up a year’s problems to all be solved together.

“If you’re setting too many goals or trying to create too many habits at once, you’re realistically not going to be able to attain all of them,” Kawulia said.

However, just because resolutions don’t always go as planned doesn’t mean that they can’t ever work.

“[Resolutions] get a bad reputation, but… the advantages outweigh the disadvantages if done properly,” said Sweeney.

New Year’s resolutions as most people go about them are ineffective, but they don’t have to be.

The first step to reaching resolutions is setting solid goals.

“An effective goal is… something that’s attainable, because if you’re making a goal for yourself that[[’s]] pretty unrealistic, you aren’t going to work as hard to reach that goal,” Kawulia said.

Something else to be mindful of is the number of things someone can attain at once.

“We have a tendency as people to want to try to fix our lives all in one go rather than… sitting down and thinking… strategically about what we should change,” Sweeney said.

Another big issue with many resolutions is that they are vague, which makes them harder to track and hold people accountable for.

“Setting more short-term goals… as milestones to get there [is helpful,]” Rausch said.

“You definitely need… a plan,” said Luke Hernandez, an OH Junior in Panther Power, football, and baseball.

Take higher grades for example: instead of just aiming for the overall grade to be higher than it was last semester, people should break it down, like aiming for a certain score on the next unit test, and studying or doing homework for an hour every night. This lets people keep track of their progress, and gives them the satisfaction of reaching goals more often.

Another thing that can help goals stick is building habits to support them.

“A habit [is] something that you do on a consistent basis for a specific reason,” Kawulia said.

When something goes from a task to a habit, it becomes part of a person’s routine, which means that they’ll do it more reliably. It takes about two weeks to a month to form a habit, but it is important to keep up with it after that.

“Usually… there’s some kind of cue, so… that might be… the time of day or an order of something,” Kawulia said. “Habit stacking… is actually the most beneficial way to start a new habit.”

By connecting a new habit to an existing one like brushing teeth, or a consistent cue like getting home from school, it is expanding a routine rather than creating a new one, which makes the habit easier to maintain over time.

The most important thing in goal setting is motivation to keep up with the work.

“Knowing yourself and knowing what’s going to be… motivating for you is… important,” Sweeney said.

Some people are motivated by sweet treats, some people are motivated by others, some people are motivated by nicely filled out checklists. It all comes down to figuring out what will make that individual actually want to stick with something. Eventually, their brains will be trained to associate the task with the reward until the task itself is rewarding.

“I write down… my goals… on… a piece of paper. I… hang them up and… look at them every morning and just kinda wake up and get to work,” Hernandez said.

For a lot of people, having physical reminders can help them stick with goals and habits, and remember the end goal of improving themselves. While devices aren’t a cure all, they can be helpful if used correctly.

“I have… an app that has… daily goals,” Rausch said. “Being able to play… a little game or something like that… can be easier than having to look at… a spreadsheet or something that’s maybe not as interesting.”

For a lot of people, especially teenagers, having something in an online game format with little rewards can be great for motivation. Even digitally writing notes or to-do lists, or setting alarms or calendar reminders, can help people stick with their goals and habits.

New Year’s resolutions are a chance to reflect and set goals, but they shouldn’t be used as a catch-all solution.

“It’s better to commit… to one or two things… early in the year, and then later maybe… figure out some other things you want to look at,” Sweeney said.

Goals set in December and January are what people make of them: If people treats resolutions as a silly tradition and an excuse not to work on themselves throughout the year, they aren’t going to do anything, but if people use the new year as a reminder to self-reflect and develop a plan to improve themselves, the goals they set can lead to lasting, substantial benefits.