Sometimes it’s healthier to think of “New Years” as more of a season than a single specific event.
New year’s day and eve are pretty clear and marked on the calendar, but the period of the first few weeks of the new year are still well outside the realm of ‘normal’ life, so it’s still a good time to be reflecting, recalibrating, and realigning yourself for the year ahead. The traditional way to do that is, of course, New Year’s Resolutions.
But how does that work in practice? How can you make the changes to your life imagined in January actual real shifts in who you are and how you live?
To help you achieve that in 2026, here’s twenty six tips on making your New Years resolutions really stick.
1. Have clear goals – Things like “eat healthier” and “read more” might sound good, but how will you know if you’ve made progress without real numbers/records?
2. Set small steps – Trying to lose two stone is a lot, and on a given day it can feel like you can’t make any meaningful progress towards that goal. Set smaller steps that can be regularly reached.
3. Use “if-then” systems – Set yourself up for success by planning for situations you know you will encounter. Pre-decide, and you will feel less hesitancy when you get to places where the changes you want will be challenging.
4. Positive framing – It is easier to think of changes in your life as “I will accomplish X” or “I will do Y” rather than “I must do less of Z” or “I’ll stop doing Q”. This can seem difficult if you do want to stop something, but try to reframe the decision in a different light. Instead of “I will eat less fast food” think “I will become an accomplished cook”
5. Visual tracking works – Have a chart, a book, a page on a notes app. However you do it, a visual record of your goals and accomplishments will really help you make actual progress in this field. You will know about your progress and feel better as you do it.
6. Celebrate small wins – Simply waiting till the end to celebrate will make the process of change feel too boring and sad. Be happy with yourself in the intervening moments too.
7. Get accountable – Don’t just let your friends, family, co-workers, or anyone else you regularly engage with know what you are doing. Give them permission to call you out and gently but firmly redirect you as you need to be put back on course.
8. Plan actions over intent – Plans aren’t for how we feel or the vibe or mood or atmosphere. They are for actions and accomplishments. Plan out what you will do and when you will do it, not ‘I’ll do X when I feel Y’.
9. Use existing routines – Change works best when it is a reform and remaking rather than a wholly upended shift. Look for the places in your present life where change can fit and adjust around those.
10. Shift identity and outcomes – When your goals are in sync with who you believe yourself to be, they become a whole lot easier. Start to actively think of yourself as the person the goals imply. As James Clear, the famed American writer of Atomic Habits said “The goal isn’t to run a marathon, it’s to become a runner.”
11. Anticipate obstacles – If you expect things to be easy all the time, the shock that comes when they are not will be too much. Plan for the possibility of problems, and be ready to keep going even as they arise.
12. Practice self-compassion – It’s one thing to be self critical. It’s another to be so hard on yourself it becomes demotivating. Keep trying. Keep going. Reflect honestly, but don’t beat yourself up.
13. Imagine the end goal – Push yourself in the present with a picture of the future. Mental imagery allows you to have stronger motivation and keep going towards the goal amidst difficulty. To make a dream real, it first has to be a dream. Let yourself dream.
14. Don’t force the timeline – If you are still in the planning stages, and have not got things ready, you are still allowed to prepare. Don’t force timelines because you think fast = better. Preparing is still progress. Go when you are ready.
15. Reflect regularly – Progress without reflection is just motion. It can feel good, but it may not be useful. Take time, weekly or monthly, to look at what is working and what isn’t. Adjustment is not failure; it is how improvement actually happens.
16. Shape your environment – Willpower is unreliable, but surroundings are powerful. Make the good choices easier and the bad ones harder by adjusting what is around you, not just what is in your head.
17. Focus on one thing at a time – Trying to change everything at once usually means changing nothing for very long. Pick the most important shift first, and give it your attention until it sticks.
18. Make it something to care about – Goals that matter only on paper don’t last. When a resolution connects to what actually matters to you personally, motivation comes from within rather than pressure from outside.
19. Keep goals visible – If you never see your goals, you will forget them. Put reminders somewhere unavoidable so your intentions don’t quietly fade into the background.
20. Treat setbacks as information – Falling short doesn’t mean you’re bad at this. It means you’ve learned something about what doesn’t work. Use that knowledge and keep moving.
21. Choose accountability partners wisely – Accountability works best when it is supportive rather than shaming. Pick people who want you to succeed and will help you course-correct, not give up.
22. Use reminders and prompts – Memory and motivation are inconsistent. Gentle nudges, alarms, notes, or prompts help bridge the gap between intention and action.
23. Simplify wherever possible – If a goal feels complicated, it probably is. Strip it back to the core action that actually moves things forward and focus on that.
24. Learn how habits really work – Understanding how habits form makes change less mysterious and less personal. You stop thinking “what’s wrong with me?” and start thinking “how can I redesign this?”
25. Anchor change to who you are becoming – Sustainable change isn’t about punishment or control. It’s about becoming someone for whom the new behaviour makes sense. Act as that person would, even before it feels natural.
26. Stay flexible – Life will interfere, plans will wobble, and perfection will never arrive. Adapt rather than abandon. Progress survives flexibility far better than rigidity.an.
