Every January starts the same way with good intentions, fresh motivation, and a quiet confidence that this will be the year things change.
Then, somewhere between week two and week four, real life reappears. Routines slip, motivation fades, and resolutions quietly fall by the wayside. If you already go to the gym you see it every January, the first couple of weeks are so packed that it's almost impossible to get to any equipment and then by the end of the month it has got a lot more manageable. By March it is pretty much back to normal, every single one of those good intentioned resolutions abandoned before Spring arrives.
The problem usually isn’t the resolution itself, it’s how we approach it. Sticking to New Year’s resolutions isn’t about endless willpower or becoming a different person overnight. It’s about setting things up in a way that works with real habits, real stress, and real life.
Here are ten practical ways to give your resolutions a fighting chance in 2026.
1. Make your resolutions specific, not vague
“Get healthier” or “be better with money” sound nice, but they’re hard to stick to because they don’t mean anything concrete.
Resolutions work best when they’re specific enough to act on. “Walk for 20 minutes four times a week” is clearer than “exercise more.” “Cut down smoking by replacing weekday cigarettes with nicotine pouches” is more actionable than “quit smoking.”
If you can’t clearly explain what success looks like, it’s much harder to achieve it.
2. Start smaller than you think you should
One of the quickest ways to fail is by setting the bar too high. Big changes look impressive on paper, but small changes are the ones that actually last.
If your resolution feels slightly too easy, that’s usually a good sign. Small wins build confidence and momentum. Once something becomes part of your routine, you can always build on it later.
Cutting an entire food or food group out of your diet is a big ask, but you might find reducing your portion size a little to be easier. Even a simple switch from having a fried egg to a poached egg in the morning helps, and you can always decide to make your resolution a little more stringent later, once the initial behaviour change has become a new routine.
Sustainable progress beats dramatic effort every time.
3. Build your resolution into your existing routine
Resolutions stick best when they don’t rely on constant reminders or bursts of motivation.
Look for ways to attach new habits to things you already do. A short walk to get lunch might change to a longer route, or if there are 2 cafe's you like to get coffee from, go to the one which is further away. Stretching while the kettle boils. Using a nicotine pouch during moments you’d usually smoke, rather than trying to fight cravings head-on.
The less mental effort a habit requires, the more likely it is to survive long-term.
4. Plan for the moments you usually fail
Most resolutions don’t fail randomly, they fail in predictable situations and stressful days, social events, boredom, tiredness can all create a situation where it is just easier to default to your old behaviour
Instead of hoping those moments won’t happen, plan for them. Decide in advance what you’ll do when motivation dips. If you usually smoke when stressed, what’s your alternative? If you skip workouts when tired, what’s the fallback option? Rather than exercising on a particular day, commit to a certain number of days per week or month, so if circumstances work against you, you can catch up and still stay on target.
Having a plan removes the need to make decisions in the moment, which is when most slip-ups happen.
5. Don’t rely on motivation alone
Motivation is unreliable. It comes and goes, often without warning. If your resolution only works when you feel like it, it probably won’t last.
Structure is far more important. Set reminders. Prepare in advance. Keep tools you need close at hand. Make the “right” choice easier than the old habit.
When sticking to a resolution becomes the default option, motivation matters far less.
6. Track progress but keep it simple
Tracking helps, but only if it’s easy to maintain. Overcomplicated systems usually get abandoned.
A simple checklist, calendar tick, or note on your phone is often enough. Seeing progress visually, even something small, reinforces the habit and makes it harder to give up completely.
Tracking isn’t about perfection. It’s about awareness and accountability.
7. Expect setbacks and don’t treat them as failure
One missed workout. One cigarette. One skipped day. None of these undoes your progress unless you let them.
Setbacks are normal. What matters is what happens next. The people who stick to resolutions long-term aren’t the ones who never slip, they’re the ones who don’t turn a slip into a reason to quit entirely.
Progress isn’t linear, and accepting that makes it easier to keep going.
8. Make your environment work for you
Willpower is often overrated it can be the environment which matters more.
If you want to eat better, keep healthier food visible and convenient. If you want to reduce smoking, make alternatives easy to reach. If you want to exercise more, keep a resistance band by your desk which you can use while you are reading, thinking and a dozen other little moments throughout the day.
You don’t need more discipline, you need to make sure there are fewer obstacles in your way.
9. Be realistic about stress and coping
Many resolutions fail because they ignore one simple fact: people fall back on habits when they’re stressed.
If your resolution doesn’t account for how you cope with pressure, it’s vulnerable. That doesn’t mean eliminating stress, it means choosing better ways to manage it.
For smokers or vapers, that might mean switching to nicotine pouches or other NRT during stressful moments instead of relying on cigarettes. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s reducing harm while keeping things manageable.
10. Focus on progress, not identity
Resolutions tend to fail when they become tied to identity: “I’m bad at sticking to things” or “I always mess this up.”
Instead, focus on actions. What did you do today that moved you in the right direction? Even small steps count.
You don’t need to become a new person in January. You just need to keep making slightly better choices than before, often enough that they start to add up.
Final thought
Sticking to New Year’s resolutions isn’t about discipline or deprivation. It’s about designing habits that fit your life, your routines and your reality.
Whether your goal is to move more, spend less, manage stress better or reduce smoking or vaping, the same principle applies: make it practical, make it flexible, and make it kind enough that you’ll still be doing it months from now.
Because the resolutions that last aren’t the ones that look impressive in January, they’re the ones that quietly become part of everyday life.