What are those New Year's resolutions doing? Good for you if you persist. Many people don't.
In December, I was thinking about this problem after reading a newsletter that claimed that New Year's Resolutions actually work well. The fresh start effect is the work of behavioural economistKaty Milkman.
The fresh start effect is a tendency to treat certain dates as a starting point for personal change. There are many other dates that can be framed as a fresh start. Milkman and her colleagues invited research participants to sign up for email reminders that were designed to encourage them towards their goals. They were told that the reminder would be sent on Thursday. Others were told it would be sent on the first day of spring. The email reminder was sent on the first day of spring in both cases, but it wasn't received as much as it should have been.
The study didn't measure whether anyone actually achieved their goals or acquired lasting new habits, it just gauged interest in receiving an email. This is not proof that New Year's resolutions work, but an explanation as to why we make them on the first of January.
A fresh start is not the end. It is better than nothing. If 80 per cent of resolutions fail, that means 20 per cent succeed. Hurrah!
I would like to understand more about the challenge of not making resolutions but keeping them. In the end of How to Change, Milkman and her colleague discuss the success of a large experiment. The experiment was to get people to exercise more. Is it a success?
Milkman said, " Absolutely!" Why did the disagreement happen? The experimental persuasions were not as effective as they could have been in getting people to go to the gym.
Milkman writes that if you hope for persistent results, one possible answer is persistent persuasion. Milkman muses that forgetfulness, impatience and laziness are also chronic conditions, requiring endless vigilance, and that you don't just give someone with diabetes a 28-day supply ofinsulin, then walk away.
There are other approaches. David had a late-night snacking habit. He decided to leave the old habit in the old house when he moved there. He writes that the approach was successful. The idea of a fresh start is a twist on it. New Year's Day is over by January the second, but the day after you move you are still in the old house. The fresh start stays fresh.
A clear plan is often missing from resolutions. Do you have a resolution to exercise more? Great! Where will you exercise and when will you do it? Signing up for an exercise class is better than a generic gym membership because you have to be specific about how you will achieve your goal.
One idea that has stuck in my mind is that our actions are influenced by impelling forces and by the brakes, if you like. We often get better results from releasing the brake when we want to move. Daniel Kahneman credits the early 20th-century psychologist Kurt Lewin. Why haven't I been doing this already? If you answer those questions, you can learn something that will help make your new resolution stick.
A new habit can be pinned on a change of routine or context. Make a plan to keep the resolution. Take a look at what obstacles are standing in your way.
There is some empirical backing for these ideas, but it seems less well-explored than how to start.
It shows a focus in the way we think. We focus more on new habits than on maintaining them because we focus more on the new than on the old. The challenge of maintenance is a topic for another week.
How to Make the World Add Up is a new book by Tim Harford.
First, follow us on social media to find out about our latest stories.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
