Whether it be maintaining good grades in school or working out consistently, many students have set New Year’s resolutions for themselves in 2021. However, staying true to these goals can be challenging, and fewer than 10 percent of American adults who do set resolutions are able to maintain these new habits for more than a few months.

A month into the new year, some have experienced success in maintaining their resolutions. Setting a quantifiable goal and actively keeping track of progress can help to solidify New Year’s resolutions into everyday habit. “Two of my resolutions this year were to drink more water throughout the day and to start exercising more in a week. To keep track of this, I fill up a 32 ounce bottle every day before classes and try to get it done by night. With exercising, I try to do at least two workout videos a day during the week,” freshman Gurnoor Sodhi said. 

Other students who have found success in staying true to their New Year’s resolutions have done so by staying organized and setting timely goals. “My resolution this year is to get more schoolwork done on time and not all at the last minute. I try to keep up with this goal by taking it a day at a time. For example, to get more school work done, I set daily schedules and create to-do lists of work I have to do,” junior Eknoor Kaur said. 

A challenge students face when maintaining resolutions is incorporating these new habits into their daily routines, as these new activities have to be introduced into an already-established schedule. This difficulty can be particularly emphasized for students who have set school-related goals. “My resolution to get more schoolwork done on time was difficult to immediately put into practice because the new year began in the middle of the first semester. For this reason, my resolution has become more of a ‘new semester resolution’ than a ‘New Year’s resolution’,” Kaur said. 

Others who have run into challenges when keeping up with their resolutions have found their main obstacle to be developing these new practices into habits. “My main resolution is to just eat more fruit. I have been doing pretty good and I have been making sure to eat at least two servings of fruit each day. However, it can be difficult keeping up with this on some days because I have also had a few times where I just don’t feel like eating fruit and end up only having one serving,” senior Justin Myers said. 

Overall, students who have set resolutions for themselves this year have successfully stayed consistent with these goals, despite the challenges of incorporating new habits into their lives.