New Year’s Resolutions: Hacked

As we inch closer to the end of 2020, most people have one common thought in mind. New Year’s resolutions. Now, you’re probably thinking about all the failed and forgotten resolutions of previous years, but what if I told you there was a way to make sure you could keep to your resolutions? Turns out the answer is a simple process anyone could follow.

Keeping to goals that we set for ourselves is purely a mental process. When you physically write out a to-do list and you check off something that you’ve accomplished, your brain releases dopamine. Dopamine is a chemical that improves memory, concentration and motivation in your brain (Knight, Rebecca, “Your Desire to Get Things Done Can Undermine Your Effectiveness.” Harvard Business Review). Using this logic we should write out a to-do list every time we need a task done, right ? Well, kind of.

Another trick is to not only write down what needs to be done. If you’re the type of person that gets easily overwhelmed at the sheer thought of the mountains of assignments waiting for you when you get home and the pressure to participate in extracurricular activities and sports, AKA the collective student nightmare, studies have shown that breaking down one task into multiple smaller tasks can be helpful in overcoming those mental barriers. This is known as micro-productivity (Cummings, Tucker. “Micro-Productivity: Accomplishing Major Goals With Minor Effort.” Lifehack). This method is effective because by breaking down one big task into many smaller, you can complete the smaller tasks easily and your brain releases more dopamine, therefore giving you more motivation to complete more tasks. One example is this. Say your new year’s resolution is to go to the gym three times a week but you just can’t find it in you to go. A to-do list you could make could look something like this:

1. Put on gym attire

2. Get keys, water bottle and phone

3. Put on sports shoes

4. Walk to the gym

By breaking it down even the most daunting of assignments can be finished in no time !

Another key point is knowing how to set goals that you can accomplish. We might be tempted to aim the highest we can and make goals to change or improve on whatever it may be about our lifestyle, but it’s important to set realistic goals. A few important points when setting goals is to remember to keep it specific, achievable, and measurable (Sabell, Helen. “10 Steps for Effective Goal Setting: Set and Achieve Goals " College for Adult Learning.” College for Adult Learning). By being specific with your goals, you can work more accurately towards it. For example, if you plan out a schedule that will help you achieve your goal it will be much more helpful than simply writing it down and hoping you’ll do what you need to do to achieve your goal. By writing down a goal that’s realistic, you can be sure of success. While it might seem tempting to aim high, at the end of the day you want to have a goal that you can achieve. Having a goal that’s measurable is also important as having evidence of improvement will boost morale and encourage you to keep striving to achieve your resolutions.

Take all these tips into the year for a ‘New Year, New Me’!