6 Behavioral Science Backed Tips for the New Year

We love the feeling of fresh starts. Behavioral economists coined the term “fresh start effect” to define the surges of motivation we get during perceived new beginnings.

No other time feels triggers this feeling more than the new year. The flip of the calendar is a magical time when we turn over a new leaf and start with a clean slate, when possibilities are endless and our potential feels limitless. 

Unfortunately, that motivation tends to be fleeting. Data shows that the promises we make in the form of new year’s resolutions aren’t often kept: 

In a series of studies, researchers from the University of Scranton followed 200 people who made New Year’s resolutions over a two-year period. Seventy-seven percent were able to keep their resolutions for one week. At a month, 64 percent reported success. That fell to 50 percent after three months and 46 percent after six months. Only 19 percent deemed themselves successful in reaching their goal when researchers followed up two years later.

We don’t struggle so much because of laziness or a lack of motivation, though. Change is just really, really hard. As Richard Thaler says, “People aren’t stupid. The world is hard.” 

Rather than beating ourselves up for yet another year, we should accept the challenge for what it is and get the help we need. That help is available from behavioral science, which has been studying how and why we change (or don’t change) for decades. 

Here are some key tips from behavioral science to understand as you embark on a new year: 

Go deeper into your goals. There are deeper motivations to our behavior, and the reasons for doing or not doing something are more complicated than we realize. In most cases, if we continually pledge to make a change, but fail to do so, there is some kind of internal blocker that’s being ignored. 

I’ll use myself as an example. I’ve wanted to do what I’m doing in this exact post for a long time - write more. Year after year, I’d plan to write more, only to end up back where I started by new year’s eve. It wasn’t a lack of information - I knew what to do. It wasn’t a lack of resources. The internet makes it remarkably easy to publish writing. I also had plenty of friends and connections who were prolific writers that could help if I asked. Something else was preventing me from following through. 

It really was fear. I was afraid of putting my thoughts out into the world for all to see. I was afraid of locking myself into a commitment of writing all the time. I was uncomfortable with promoting myself through writing. Before I could get over the hump, I had to recognize and confront these - and that’s still an ongoing process. 

So, for whatever your goals are, go below the surface and consider the motivations and blockers you have around the behaviors. Why do you want to exercise more? It’s okay to be vain and just want to look good on the beach this summer or on your upcoming cruise vacation. Why haven’t you in the past? Maybe you’re afraid of success and people judging you for being in better shape than them. Maybe you’re afraid of looking like a fool as a beginner in the gym. Whatever the reason, it’s perfectly normal and valid, but you have to confront it before change can happen. 

Focus on systems over goals. Goals are a necessary step to provide direction, but they are meaningless without a system that can reach them. A system is a group of repeatable tasks done daily, weekly, and monthly that lead to improvement and achieving goals. 

For one, considering the system will help refine the goal. It’s easy to set an ambitious goal without considering exactly what it will take to get there. By breaking it down into regular behaviors, it becomes easier to understand the scope of the accomplishment.

Second, systems provide necessary psychological context. Putting off work on something that isn’t due for a year is easy. Ignoring a daily or weekly task repeatedly is harder. Paring a project down into smaller, but more immediate tasks keeps it top of mind. 

Third, systems build long-term change. “Running a 5k” is a goal that you may reach, but then stop running. “Run for at least 30 minutes four times a week” is a system that you can stick to before and after the race. 

Make it easy. Overconfidence is one of the most pernicious biases we face, and it’s especially hazardous when setting about for change. We almost always overestimate what’s realistic for us to stick to and accomplish in the short term. 

If your resolutions are meant to last, they should be modest. Progress is a long journey and small, sustainable gains compound over time. According to BJ Fogg, founder and director of the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University and author of Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything: 

“...to be effective, change doesn’t have to be hard at all—and shouldn’t be. Tiny adjustments that come easily and make us happy are the ones that work best. It’s our approach to self-improvement that needs to change.”

The habits for your goals should begin surprisingly small and achievable. Consider what you can accomplish on even your worst day, and stick to it. 

Doing this builds momentum and, most importantly, identity. You want to become the type of person who does what you want to do. This only happens with success, even if small. 

Change your environment. One of the most important findings in behavioral science is that our environment drives our behavior much more than we think. Take advantage of this and adapt your environment to support your goals. 

Want to eat healthier? Make it easier to eat healthy by buying easy to make frozen foods that minimize prep time. Make it harder to eat unhealthy by getting rid of all the junk food in your house and deleting delivery apps that bring high calorie/low nutrition meals to your doorstep. 

Remove barriers to the things you want to do and add friction to those you want to avoid. 

Get help. The best athletes in the world have coaches, despite their mastery. Regardless of one’s expertise and discipline, external help is necessary to maximize performance. 

You don’t necessarily need to hire a coach, but support of any kind goes a long way. Want to work out more? Have a gym rat friend keep you accountable or join a group gym like Crossfit. Want to read more? Start a book club. Want to learn a language? Hire a tutor or set up weekly meetings with a friend who speaks the language. Any support to push you through the hardest times will make a difference.

Measure progress. If your goal isn’t specific enough to measure, then it’s too vague to achieve. Commit to tracking your systems and objectively evaluate progress. 

While sometimes tedious, tracking lets you feel a “win” when you complete your habits. A key part of habit formation is a psychological “reward” for completing the action. Marking success on an app like Strides is an easy way to feel a sense of accomplishment. . 

Consistent can also be encouraging. In the trenches of change, it can feel like you’re not making progress, but looking back at your data and seeing how much progress you’ve made can be motivating. Small habits add up in the aggregate, though they feel insignificant in the moment.

Embrace failure and be patient. Change is a long process of trial and error. You probably won’t find something that works the first time, but you will if you keep going and adapt. You’ll miss the occasional day or week, but can pick up where you left off. 

Don’t expect perfection and forgive yourself when things don’t go as planned. Change is a bumpy, not linear.