Q: Do you have any tips for keeping new year resolutions?

A: I’m not a big proponent of new year resolutions. I have personally failed pretty much every time. Studies say the odds are dismal, and the percentage of success tiny. However, what I am a big proponent of, is acquiring the ability to change your habits. And we can do it anytime.

If we were to become adept at changing our habits (starting good ones -like exercise- and stopping bad ones -like smoking), we could rely on the their power, and not just on our willpower. And guess what, according to “Creatures of Habit” a wonderful podcast episode I heard on NPR’s Hidden Brain, there’s lot of great research that tells us how to do it. The whole thing is worth listening to but here are two tips I found particularly interesting:

1)      “Piggyback” on an established habit. Also called “stacking”, the concept here is to take an already established habit (something you do without thinking) and inset your new desired behavior. For instance, if you climb out of bed half-sleep, go to the kitchen to make coffee and check your phone while it brews; you could instead not look at your phone and “piggyback” some morning body stretches while the coffee is done (these stretches could someday be “stacked” to a new morning walking routine). See what I did there?

2)      Trick your way into starting a new habit. Studies show that people tend to want to repeat actions that are easy and/or fun (no surprise, I know). But the point here is to make doing something so easy or fun that you’ll eventually do it without thinking (by habit) and it’ll no longer need to be easy/fun. For example if you splurge in buying pre-cut fruits and veggies so that each time you open the fridge, it’s a pleasure to snack on them, after a few months, you’ll have a fruit and veggie habit. You won’t have to stop and decide, you’ll want them without thinking. By then, you won’t mind peeling and cutting your own.

I don’t know about you, but I’m going to try these two. Happy 2020.

Recommended:

Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science Of Making Positive Changes That Stick by Wendy Wood, 2019.

Fresh Starts, Guilty Pleasures And Other Pro Tips For Sticking To Good Habits by L.Carol Ritchie, 2019.

©Copyright Eva Del Rio

Eva Del Rio is creator of HR Box™ – tools for small businesses and startups. Send questions to Eva@evadelrio.com