Want big results? Set small goals

they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and anyone who’s ever set one of those enormous, absolutelyeverything-isabout-to-change goals will relate. Outside of a few saintly individuals, a commitment to losing 10 kilos within a month, hitting the gym every day or never swearing again seldom runs the course. And the problem isn’t you. It’s human nature.

“The rah-rah excitement about a resolution works for only a week or two,” says Dr John Norcross, professor of psychology, author of Changeology (Simon & Schuster; R298) and an expert in the stickability of resolutions.

As much as we might want to eat more greens, most of all we want to be happy: free of guilt and shame.

Read on for ways to get ahead in life without setting yourself up. Who’s with us?

Adults make almost two million resolutions each year – and nearly 30% give up within two weeks.

1 Stop setting enormous goals for yourself

Maybe you want to lose a bunch of kilos, maybe you want to meditate for an hour every day or maybe you want to train for a marathon – all very noble ideas. But (sorry!) it’s a science-proven fact that starting from zero and trying to shoot for the moon will only result in a hard crash.

“Research shows massive goals are deflating rather than motivating,” says Dr Norcross. “For example, you might lose a kilogram or two during the first week, which is actually great, but it’s going to feel like nothing compared with the seven you wanted.”

Smaller goals will help you feel like more of a mission-accomplishing rock star, if that’s your thing. Otherwise it’s really OK to walk away from this type of grand goal setting entirely.

2 Get over getting organised

You say it every year: you’ll get colour-coordinated Post-it notes. You’ll finally figure out how to use Evernote. You’ll tackle the unruly pile of photos accruing in a shoe box. This time you’re going to get organised.

While visions of crisp hanging folders dance in your head, we’d like to point out that you’ve come this far in your career and in life with whatever organisational system you currently possess, and, sister, you’re killing it.

There are even benefits to some disorganisation. Research has found that messy surroundings encourage creativity and novel thinking. So if ‘giant stack of papers’ is your system and it’s working for you, keep on keeping on.

3 If you don’t like running, don’t run

Our feeds have been clogged with dedicated runners lately: those half-marathon medallists, paintsoaked Colour Run participants and filthy obstacle course finishers seem to be absolutely everywhere we look. Great; happy for them. But don’t let FOMO force you to log kilometres that you’ll hate every step of the way. Running does not have to be your exercise of choice. To the antisprinters: walking is awesome. Recent studies have found that it burns more kilojoules than previously believed. And if you walk at an effort of three or four on a scale of one to 10 (one being no problem, 10 being Everest), you’ll burn more body fat compared with running. The sweet spot!

4 Stop trying for ‘more’

You know that nagging feeling that you’re not getting enough – enough sleep, enough sex, enough downtime? The truth bomb: most of us are doing much better than we think. The average person, for example, gets about seven and a half hours of zzz’s a night, which is more than the recommended minimum.

And while more chill time would certainly be nice, don’t think you need to force yourself into a meditative stupor to keep your stress levels down. On a scale of one to 10, a study found most women rate their general state of frazzle at a very manageable five. So pat yourself on the back and move on.

5 Skip the ‘healthy’ stuff you don’t actually like

An incredible 42% of resolutions involve trying to force ourselves to be healthier. But here’s the newsflash: getting healthier doesn’t have to be a miserable experience.

As in, you can stop trying to choke down salmon or kale if you can’t stand salmon or kale. Stop signing up for big, sweaty yoga classes when you’d rather exercise alone.

There are so many good-for-you things in the world that if you’ve given one of them a shot and truly aren’t feeling it, let it go. Don’t swap quinoa for doughnuts, but if you

prefer romaine to spinach, why beat yourself up for it? You’re only having a darn salad!

6 It’s OK if you don’t cook

We’ll admit it – cooking is good for you. But plain and simple, it’s not always an option, so chill out if you find yourself reaching for that app where you can order a meal using just an emoji.

Life happens. Plenty of takeout joints offer options loaded with veggies, lean proteins and whole grains.

PS: making your own is not always the money saver some people make it out to be either. For example, some meal delivery services offer healthy heat-and -eat dishes for about as much as it would cost to buy the ingredients individually.

7 Don’t freak out about keeping a line-item budget for yourself

No, this isn’t about creating massive credit card debt. Not at all! But if you’re trying to get your finances in order (a resolution about 14% of people make), some clear general guidelines might do you more good than obsessively tracking every single cent you spend.

“Stressing over sticking to a budget isn’t actually helping your financial goals,” says Tonya Rapley, founder of My Fab Finance. “What’s really important is trying to save roughly 20% of your net income for emergencies and keeping impulse purchases to a minimum.” No spreadsheet required.

8 Please don’t use 1 January as a kickoff date

Look, we get the appeal of the fresh start that a new calendar offers. But research shows it’s not the first day of the year that holds the power of change. Instead, it’s whether you’re actually excited by any of these goals you’re setting. “Any occasion where you think, ‘This is my moment, and I’m ready to go!’ – that’s when you should seize the chance to make a change,” says Dr Norcross. If that moment hits on the first day of the year, more power to you. If it doesn’t, then press that snooze button.

Even geniuses like Albert Einstein and Tina Fey are notorious messydesk-havers.