Why SMART Habits are better than New Year鈥檚 Resolutions
From the desk of Jessica Mize, ACE Director:
New year, new opportunities, new unknowns, new adventures鈥ew you! Every year when our calendars roll over, there is an increased level of hype and discussion on resolutions. Do not get me wrong, I think when we resolve to do good or make a positive change in our lives, this is a great thing. However, I think that resolutions have a tendency to fail because often times people miss the importance of the process and how to set achievable goals.
In thinking about how resolutions can apply to student success, I want to give some practical advice and tips on why I think habits are the key to a new you, especially as they pertain to academics.
S.M.A.R.T. Goals stands for specific, measurable, action-based, reachable, and time-based. It can often be the case that when we start out with a resolution, we are too broad. For example, 鈥淚 want to get better grades.鈥� Take it a step further and be specific: 鈥淚 want to improve my numerical grade from the first semester to the second semester in my chemistry class.鈥� Make your goal measurable: 鈥淚 want to increase my grade by 5 points.鈥� Make your goal action-based: 鈥淚 will devote an extra hour a week to reading through my notes, studying, and talking through the material with my teacher/classmates. Make your goal reachable: 鈥淏y determining to increase my grade five points in the second semester, I am setting an attainable goal instead of something unmanageable like making a 100 on every assignment.鈥� And last, make your goal time-based: 鈥淚 will check my grades weekly and at the first 9-week point, I will show upward movement in my grade.鈥�
My favorite way to ensure success with new goals is to establish new, beneficial habits. Habits help remove the decision-making from the equation because they are like rituals we do without even realizing it or thinking about it. Instead of stressing over something you have to do, habits are automatic, something you just do without really thinking about it. The most recent research states that 40% of our day is habit and that it takes around eight weeks to truly establish a habit.
Get started now! Many times intimidation or fear of failure keep us from getting started toward our new goal and many times taking the first step is the hardest. Please do not wait another day! Get started now. Make it a personal objective to take that first step and each day get a little better. Steady, increased improvement adds up over time. With each day that passes, there are opportunities to add.
Last, do not go at it alone. Accountability is powerful and motivating. Share your goals with someone else and let them be a checkpoint for your progress.
Come see me in ACE for more on how habits are the best way to reach goals, not resolutions!
Lin, A. (2017, January 1). 鈥淲hy I create habits, and other new year鈥檚 resolution tips.鈥� Medium. Retrieved from
N.A. (2015, December 31). 鈥�10 Reasons Why Happy Habits Work Better Than New Year鈥檚 Resolutions.鈥� Career Division. Retrieved from