How to make New Year Resolutions that stick

The decorations are down, the nights are long (and seriously lacking some festive twinkly lights), and Spring seems ages away! But, the New Year’s resolutions are freshly made and hopes are high.

Fast forward to February and most of us are struggling to stick to our new resolutions, despite the best intentions. For neurodiverse people making those January resolutions can be tougher still, exacerbated by the keenness to do it like everyone else. Plus, any shake-up to the normal routine can be harder to acknowledge, accept, and ultimately follow through.

Remember when setting new goals to also plan how these goals can be attained, as this will improve your chance of success.

Top tips for setting resolutions

So, here are a few top tips for making realistic and achievable New Year’s resolutions this new year:

Whatever your resolutions, make sure you’re doing them for yourself. Making New Year's resolutions has to be something positive for you, not for anyone else.
Choose something you can take specific steps towards. You can break any goals down into more manageable bite-sized steps; this means anything you set yourself should be easier to achieve and feel less daunting.
It sounds daft, but don’t start compiling your notes if you're hangry, or just not in the mood. Like a car your body needs fuel, so make sure you’re not hungry or tired so you can think clearly.
It’s ok if you failed last year’s resolutions, failing is all part of the learning process and experience. And, you will learn from where you went wrong the first time, which will help in getting right the next time.
Choose a goal focused on your health; be it your mental health, physical health, or even self-care. These are things that will give you a boost!
Don’t overcomplicate things: don’t choose something so difficult that it will take over your life in a negative way or cause you stress. The loftiest resolutions are usually the first to be discarded, so remember if you raise the bar too high, you only set yourself up for disappointment.
Just stick to one. We can easily get carried away trying to do everything at once, but pulling off a single goal is much easier. And if you successfully manage one new goal, you can always add to it as the year progresses.
And lastly, be kind to yourself! As the saying goes “Rome wasn’t built in a day” so be patient and determined while you’re trying, and remember one setback doesn’t mean you’ve failed.

How to make New Year Resolutions that stick!