Setting specific, hard-to-reach goals seems to help people maintain motivation, while preventing them from feeling as drained by mental tasks.
The fresh flavors taste good now – a here-and-now reward that’s more motivating than potentially avoiding health problems in the future.
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Long-term goals can be hard to stick to if the benefits are only way off in the future. Research suggests ways to focus on the here and now to help you ultimately achieve your more far-off targets.
Strategies like setting SMART goals and enlisting social support can help turn resolutions into habits.
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Resolutions are like goals and putting time into planning your resolution can increase your success. Using scientific strategies can increase your chances of sticking with your resolution.
Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep a streaker from their self-appointed activity.
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A streak can motivate you to keep on keeping on with behaviors ranging from praying to running to sharing pictures on social media. Here’s what goes into making them so compelling.
The back-to-school period is one of many temporal landmarks you can find throughout the year.
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Trudy Meehan, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences
The ‘fresh start effect’ explains why the beginning of a new school year often leads to a boost in motivation – even if you aren’t a student.
Students with ADHD who get a daily report card had 4.5 fewer rule violations per 30-minute class than those without one, one study found.
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Traditional report cards sent home every few months are fine for most students. But for kids with behavioral issues, a daily report card can be a better option.
Rebecca Downes, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Noelle Donnelly, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington, and Urs Daellenbach, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Advising managers to ‘focus on clear objectives’ with remote workers overlooks the importance of relationships as the basis for understanding performance.
Choose an activity you like, and then do that activity for as many consecutive days as you can.
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Workplaces, in addition to providing critical organizational resources, can encourage employees to undertake a voluntary workplace well-being streak, or employees can commit to their own.
Popular New Year’s resolutions include exercising, learning a new skill and travelling.
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New Year’s resolutions can help us aim for a better future, but time management is the real key to actually achieving those resolutions.
Research shows that people who have flow as a regular part of their lives are happier and less likely to focus on themselves.
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Research shows that people with more flow in their lives had a higher sense of well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientists are beginning to explore what happens in the brain during flow.
You don’t need to pick up exactly where you left off; you can think about how you want your life to look.
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After more than a year of idealizing life without COVID-19, people are starting to reenter ‘normal’ life. Clinical psychology provides guidance on how to prepare for your post-pandemic reboot.
Tracking what you eat is one method proven to work.
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A year of social disconnections, deaths, job losses and political violence may lead some people to feel overwhelmed and sad. A psychologist suggests ways to find and sustain hope.
Try choosing exercise you enjoy.
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You might feel you’ve failed after ‘only’ recording 9,000 steps when your goal was 10,000. In reality, 9,000 steps might be an achievement. Is it time to ditch specific goals in favour of open goals?
The pandemic has served as a reminder that unexpected events can change our life plans, and has also made it difficult to plan for 2021.
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New Year’s resolutions are usually an opportunity to think about long-term goals. The uncertainty and restrictions of COVID-19 make 2021 a good year to focus on ways to help yourself in the short-term.
The way you pursue your goals can be the difference between maintaining happiness or feeling stressed. Try not to overthink it and break big goals up into smaller, more manageable ones.
Around 30% of people who start FebFast don’t make it through the month without alcohol. But you can increase your chances with careful planning and good support.
Behavioral science has ideas about how to keep on track beyond January.
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