Science-backed tips for sticking to your New Year 2023 resolutions

While it's true that two-thirds of people give up on their resolutions within the first few weeks of making them, you must not give up on the tradition completely. Do not stop yourself from becoming your best version just because you fear slipping up on your resolutions a few months from now. With the right strategies, a bit of dedication and some science-backed advice, you can make some achievable, realistic resolutions that give you a sense of motivation and responsibility in the next 12 months.

Whether you want to quit smoking, get fit or start going to bed early, there're a tonne of reasons to want to hop on the New Year’s resolution bandwagon. Since a fresh start like a new year can inspire you to relegate some missteps of a past chapter, you must tell yourself, "A new year calls for a new me and there's nothing that can stop me from meeting my goals."

To help you stick to your promises to yourself and celebrate the beauty of a fresh start, we have listed somescience-backed tips, sourced from books, research studies and experts.

'Tiny habits' approach

'Tiny Habits', as described by BJ Fogg in Fogg Behavioral Model in 2010, is a behaviour-changing method, which states that three major elements help people make a behavioural change in the long run. They are - Motivation, Ability and Prompt.

Fogg, who ran the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University, advised people to pick something extremely specific rather than an abstract goal and then make it as easy as possible for themselves. In short, pick habits that you actually want to inculcate in your everyday routine, instead of picking habits that you feel SHOULD be a part of your everyday routine.

An abstract idea would be - to exercise every day - and a specific one would be - to do yoga for an hour thrice a week. Now, a way to not mess up with your resolution would be to set daily reminders andalerts.

Other than setting more specific goals, you must also make them measurable and set deadlines for the same. You can also join forces with a family member, a friend, or a colleague and work together to meet your New Year's resolutions as "accountability buddies".

Set a penalty clause

Several studies suggest that penalties are much more motivating than rewards. While we are used to getting penalised for our missteps by others, fining ourselves for our misbehaviour might feel alien to us at first, but with time, it becomes second nature to us.

Now, you must be thinking how does a penalty clause work? All you need to do is ensure that you face some penalty for not achieving your New Year's resolution. From donating a fixed amount to charity every time you skip a workout session to taking away an hour from your relaxing time for going to bed late, the penalty can be anything.

A fun fact - several websites like StickK and Beeminder let you put money on the line that you will have to forfeit to an NGO or a charity if you don’t achieve a stated goal. All you have to do is appoint a referee and set the stakes.

Opt for a cue-based plan

A great way to stick to your resolution is to use cues to help you remember when and where to act. A cue-based plan or strategy to achieve your goals can be a game-changer for many and several studies have backed this claim.

Deciding when and where you will execute your resolution jogs your memory when it’s opportune and it also generates guilt if you flake out. This also helps you anticipate and dodge obstacles when it's time to achieve those goals.

A quick example of this would be: meditate for 20 minutes before going to bed and after waking up. A vague resolution would be : meditate every day. Here the cue is the action of going to bed and waking up.

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