How to make your resolutions stick in 2025

BY BROOKLYN MCKINNEY / Multimedia Journalist

With the New Year countdown on Jan. 1 comes many traditions, like the ball drop in Times Square, firework shows and the possible romance of a New Year’s kiss when the clock strikes twelve.

But the start of a new year also comes with people treating their “New Year’s Resolutions” like Christmas lists. 

It’s like these people think that they can just stay on Santa’s nice list for the whole month of January by staying consistent with something, and they’re just magically going to achieve the goals on their list without actually putting in the work for the rest of the year.

In fact, according to the U.S. News and World Report, at least 80% of New Year’s resolutions end up failing by February.

If you’ve been doing this, here are six ways to get your New Year’s Resolutions to actually stick in 2024.

Break down your goals

A drastic life change can be pretty intimidating to think about at first. For example, sophomore communications major Taylor Nash said her New Year’s resolution was to start her day at 6 a.m. instead of waking up late. 

But if you usually tend to get up at 10 a.m., or 11 a.m., you might want to start slow. Instead of just setting your alarm for 6 a.m. the next day, you could set it an hour earlier each week. That way, it’s a more gradual change and you’re less likely to give up and snooze your alarm.

Make it specific

According to the National Society of Leadership and Success, it helps to identify exactly what you’re trying to accomplish. 

If Nash’s resolution was to “get up early” rather than wake up at 6 a.m., she’d be less likely to meet it. If you don’t define what is early enough, then maybe one day 11 a.m. or noon will be early enough after a long night.

Stay Accountable

How will you know that you’ve accomplished your goal and how many steps will you have to take until then? For example, Nash will probably have to go to sleep earlier each time she decides to set her alarm an hour earlier. 

Other things that might help would be limiting distractions like her phone screen at least 30 minutes before going to sleep. Something else she could try would be to take melatonin or another medication to sleep. 

She will know that she’s met her goal when she can wake up at 6 a.m. without snoozing her alarm.

Make it attainable

According to a Pew Research Center survey, 79% of New Year’s Resolutions were health, exercise or diet-related.

Something to consider if your goal is weight loss through working out or eating clean is that for the average person, it’s only recommended to lose one to two pounds per week, which is 50 to 100 pounds in a year. 

Center for Disease Control guidelines state that rapid weight loss can lead to health issues such as muscle loss, gallstones and malnutrition. 

Remind yourself of your why

Setting the right intention behind your goal can ensure that you stay motivated, persistent and overall more satisfied with your progress. 

For example, if you want to lose weight so you can feel better and lead a healthier lifestyle, then depending on where you started, you would be a lot happier with losing five pounds than someone who is only concerned about how they look.

Create a clear schedule with strict deadlines

According to Indeed.com, making deadlines is an effective way to prioritize the importance of your tasks that lead up to a goal. Deadlines also provide a direct incentive to complete tasks and the problem solving that often comes with meeting them may even enhance creativity.

Most importantly, meeting deadlines can help boost your confidence and keep you consistent.

Hopefully, with all of this in mind, you can go forth and achieve your new resolutions before the ball drops in Times Square next December.