Cynthia Cryder always liked running. But she had trouble making it a consistent habit – until her co-worker started a running group.

“It just made exercise something to look forward to every week,” Cryder said.

Cryder studies consumer behaviour and decision-making at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. One of her running buddies was Rachel Gershon, who is now an assistant professor at the University of California at Berkeley.

“Eventually we were like, you know, if exercise were this fun, everybody would want to do it,” Cryder said. Cryder, Gershon and a colleague decided to design an experiment to see if hitting the gym with a buddy made people more likely to exercise.

They posted flyers in campus fitness centres, asking students to sign up for the study with a friend. Participants were offered a $1 Amazon gift card for each day they went to the gym in a month. In one group, they could earn the dollar by working out alone. In another group they had to go to the gym with their buddy.

“So it’s actually harder in the buddy condition to get your dollar. Because you have to coordinate with your friend, you have to show up at the same time,” Cryder said. But despite that extra hurdle, the participants who had to work out with a friend showed up at the gym 35% more than the group that worked out alone.

The takeaway is, if you want to make your New Year’s resolution more likely to stick, find a friend with a similar goal – and ideally a similar schedule.

2. Choose enjoyable goals

Many of us choose goals because of the long-term outcomes we want. But recent research has found that it matters less how important the final outcome is to us and more how much we enjoy the process of getting there.

“If you really want to set yourself up for success, how can you find ways to hack that goal to make it more enjoyable for you?” said Kaitlin Woolley, a professor at Cornell University.

She and Ayelet Fishbach, who studies behavioural science at the University of Chicago, ran a study to look at the likelihood of success of New Year’s resolutions over the course of an entire year. They asked participants how important a goal was to them and how much they enjoyed the process of pursuing the goal.

“What we found was that the extrinsic motivation, how useful or important it was for people, didn’t predict their success,” Woolley said. “It was really, how enjoyable is it for me to make these changes? To eat a healthier diet, to exercise, if you have a reading goal for the end of the year, to read those books.”

Some goals may be easier to hack than others. Fitness goals may lend themselves to this because moving to music with other people is intrinsically fun for many of us. But the researchers say not to try to force yourself to become a runner if you’ve always hated running.

“People often have a bit of a robotic perception of their future self,” Fishbach said. “Me right now is doing what’s fun and engaging, but me next month, she’s going to do what’s good for her.” Fishbach said whatever you decide to work toward, it’s important to make sure it’s realistic and fits in with the rest of your life.

3. Reframe it as a positive

The researchers also found that working towards a positive goal is much easier than trying not to do something.

“It’s really hard to find immediate pleasure in avoiding something,” Fishbach said. That doesn’t mean changing your goals – but rather reframing them. If your goal is to eat fewer cookies, Fishbach suggests reframing the same goal as a positive: Eat more fruit for dessert. If your goal is to avoid ultra-processed foods, reframe it as a goal to eat whole foods you enjoy.

This can also be true with financial goals.

“I think the mistake that people make when they’re setting goals is that they go into it like, you know, I’m going to cut out everything,” Woolley said. So instead of making a goal of never shopping in 2026, it might be more sustainable to set a goal of buying only high-quality secondhand clothes or furniture, and get a friend involved to keep you accountable and make the thrifting more fun.

Set a resolution – even if you don’t know if you can keep it

Whatever your goals are for 2026, the experts say this is a great time to reflect and make a resolution, even if you might not be able to stick to it. If making a change that lasts a whole year seems too daunting, the researchers suggest starting with a month. Many people have embraced Dry January in recent years for its health benefits, even if they don’t feel ready to give up alcohol completely.

“Just because we don’t live up to our most rosy expectations doesn’t mean that we are not improving,” Fishbach said. “We also see that people who set goals are just happier with their life. So take this opportunity.”