Guides
4 so far, newest first.
▲ Goals & struggles
How to get your life together in 6 months
Choose one useful routine, make an if-then plan, record what happens and review each month. A practical six-month framework without a reset promise.
▲ Goals & struggles
How to set goals for 2026: a simple plan that lasts
Pick two or three goals, phrase each as something to do rather than avoid, shrink it to a daily action, and check in every month.
▲ Goals & struggles
Why can't I set goals? Five reasons, and what helps
Goal-setting usually stalls because goals are vague, too big, or have no plan attached. Research points to small, specific targets with an if-then plan.
▲ Goals & struggles
Why do New Year's resolutions fail by February?
Resolutions tend to fail on vague plans, all-or-nothing rules and goals framed as things to avoid. Here is what research suggests works instead.
What the guides say
The short version of each, before you read it.
How to get your life together in 6 months
- Six months is a planning window, not a promised deadline. Begin with one action that fits your actual week.
- Link a recognizable cue to a specific action, and decide on a smaller version for a difficult day.
- Keep a simple record and review it monthly to learn what fits; add another habit only when there is room.
- Research supports planning and monitoring, but this exact six-month schedule has not been tested.
How to set goals for 2026: a simple plan that lasts
- Pick two or three goals for 2026, not ten, and phrase each one as something to do rather than something to stop.
- In a 2020 study of 1,000+ adults, 58.9% with approach goals felt successful, versus 47.1% with avoidance goals.
- In a 2002 study, 46% of resolvers were still succeeding at six months, compared with 4% of people who did not resolve.
- Make each goal checkable with a yes or no, shrink it to a small daily action, and decide now what you will do after a missed day.
Why can't I set goals? Five reasons, and what helps
- Most goal-setting trouble comes from goals that are vague, too big, borrowed, unplanned or never checked.
- Turn a direction into a behaviour you could do on a normal Tuesday, sized for your worst day.
- If-then plans for your likeliest obstacle had a small to moderate effect on goal attainment in meta-analyses.
- Recording progress, especially physically, was linked to reaching goals more often across 138 experiments.
Why do New Year's resolutions fail by February?
- The '80% fail by February' figure is hard to trace; one study found 46% of resolvers still going at six months.
- In a 2020 study of 1,066 people, 55% considered themselves successful after a year.
- Goals framed as doing something succeeded 58.9% of the time, versus 47.1% for goals framed as stopping something.
- If-then plans tied to a specific moment had a medium-to-large effect on reaching goals across 94 tests.
