Should you make New Year’s resolutions during a pandemic?

As the end of the year approaches, you may look forward to the new year—and a fresh start. For many people, that means creating New Year’s resolutions. But this year may be different. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on countless people’s physical and mental health. Even if you normally choose a goal for the next 365 days, you may be wondering if you’re up for it this year. Here’s what you might want to consider as you mull it over.

Should you make New Year’s resolutions during a pandemic?

It is still worth setting New Year’s resolutions this year, even in light of the ups and downs of the pandemic. According to a recent survey from the Monday Campaigns, a public health initiative associated with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 62% of respondents expect to enjoy better health in 2022. Many plan to do so by continuing new habits or practices that they developed during the pandemic. The main habits respondents wanted to continue and build upon include: spending more time with family, maintaining an exercise routine (like running, cycling, or swimming), and continuing stress-management practices. 

That said, if you’re not feeling up for it—don’t beat yourself up. It’s okay to take a break from setting new goals if everything going on this year has you feeling overwhelmed. If setting a New Year’s resolution would be negative for your mental health, or add more stress to your life, it may be better to skip in 2022.

What are good New Year’s resolutions during a pandemic?

Wondering what to choose? During the pandemic, routines changed. For many people, that meant becoming more sedentary as offices closed and we all spent more time at home. On top of that, stress levels went through the roof as we all tried to avoid constant threats of the virus. So, for 2022, a resolution that helps tackle a pandemic-specific challenge could make the most sense. Meaning, you should prioritize physical and mental health and implement strategies to reduce your stress—not add to it!

Michelle Risser, a licensed independent social worker with Choosing Therapy, has a few suggestions for New Year’s resolutions specific to 2022:

• Resolve to connect with your friends at least once a week
• Spend more time outside on a daily basis
• Revisit any goals that you abandoned during the pandemic
• Build self-care into your daily routine, like making time for a daily walk or a bath before bed
• Set healthy boundaries with people who tend to drain your energy
• Work toward a new career goal or challenge with small, specific steps
• Get up and move your body regularly

Mental health and physical health are connected to each other. If you work on improving one, it will help you improve and sustain the other.

How to stick to a New Year’s resolution in 2022

The Monday Campaigns survey showed that the most common reasons for giving up resolutions are an inability to stay on track, dealing with the COVID pandemic, lack of discipline, and not seeing results quickly enough.

But you are not doomed to fail. If you’ve weighed the pros and cons and decided you’re up for a challenge, despite the ongoing pandemic, here are some tips to make things go a little more smoothly in 2022.

1. Avoid these commonly abandoned resolutions

Time magazine published a list of the most commonly forgotten (or abandoned) New Year’s resolutions. Lots of usual suspects made the list, including:

• Lose weight and get fit
• Quit smoking
• Reduce stress
• Save money / get out of debt
• Travel 
• Eat healthier
• Drink less

And those are just oft-forgotten goals in a normal year. The last couple of years, with COVID-19, have been anything but normal. “Staying on track is particularly challenging for health-related goals, which represent 88% of all New Year’s resolutions made,” notes Cherry Dumaual, partnerships director with the Monday Campaigns. A New Year’s resolution like these might feel like a big, unattainable goal during a time of unpredictability like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

2. Pick something meaningful to you

In any year, it’s a good idea to choose a resolution that’s meaningful to you specifically, not just something that you think you should do. “For example, a typical New Year’s resolution is to lose weight,” Risser says. “But why do you want to lose weight? For your health? To look good on vacation? To live longer for your kids? Change is hard. If you don’t have a solid why, you won’t stick with it.” 

Choosing a meaningful resolution is especially necessary now, as we move into 2022.

“The pandemic has been extremely challenging for everyone emotionally. We have been confronted with our mortality, lost loved ones, dealt with political and social stressors, faced isolation, and lost touch with many of our meaningful activities, just for starters,” Risser says. “As we move into the new year and the next phase of the pandemic, it’s important for people to choose personal, meaningful goals that will help them feel like they have some control over their lives and to begin to restore some of what has been lost.”

Then, remind yourself of that meaning when you’re tempted to give up. “First, remember your ‘why’ to help you stay motivated when things get tough,” Risser says. “Put a picture of the reason for your goal somewhere you’ll see it every day.”

3. Make it specific

If you’ve chosen a really broad resolution or vague goal, you might want to reconsider. Many experts recommend thinking SMART when it comes to setting goals or resolutions. That means a goal that’s: S: Specific, M: Measurable, A: Achievable, R: Relevant, T: Time-bound. For example, instead of saying you want to save more money next year, decide to put $20 in a separate savings account each week for three months. Keep these criteria for your goals in mind when you’re deciding what you want to work toward in 2022.

4. Be realistic

It’s good to have lofty dreams, but when picking a resolution, you should break it down into realistic chunks. Achievable steps are your best bet for success. Say that you want to lose a significant amount of weight. “That’s not going to happen in 30 days,” says Christopher Mitra, a life coach with An Inspired Life. “At least not in any healthy, sustainable way, so make your goal one pound a week. Sure, that number doesn’t look as lofty, but it also doesn’t look as daunting. We can mentally handle a one pound-a-week goal.”

Additionally, a PLoS One study suggests that more people have success keeping New Year’s resolutions when they choose approach-oriented goals, rather than avoidance-focused goals. Think: taking up positive behaviors, rather than trying to avoid negative ones. 

5. Track your progress

Something else that can help you maintain your motivation and help you achieve your big goals: Track your results. You can choose whatever type of New Year’s resolution tracker works best for you and your personality. Mitra recommends journaling. Grab a pen and some paper and spend just five minutes a day, reflecting and writing down your progress toward your goal.  

“Note what worked and what didn’t work and write down how you felt,” Mitra says. “Celebrate your wins, but also look into setbacks. Those aren’t failures, but feedback on aspects that you may need to change.” You could also try using apps on your smartphone or table to help you keep track. Depending on your resolution, you might want to check out these apps: 

• MyFitnessPal for tracking calories and physical activity 
• QuitNow!, which can help you kick your smoking habit once and for all
• Smoke Free, so you can track your cravings for a cigarette and get strategies for resisting them
• Fooducate, where you can track calories and workouts 
• Debt Payoff Planner, to help you get control of your finances and know where your money goes

The Monday Campaigns also offers an online Check Up tool for the same purpose.

6. Build stress relief in to your plan

“We are also feeling overwhelmed and overstimulated during the pandemic,” says Haley Sperlus, Ph.D., a sport and performance psychologist. “Stillness is key as a New Year’s resolution. Bring back the brilliance of boredom and create moments each day for meditation, deep breathing, good old-fashioned quiet time, etc.”

Research suggests that mindfulness meditation is a very effective stress-reduction tool. In fact, the American Psychological Association notes that mindfulness helps you “dial down the body’s response to stress.” And that can have positive benefits for both your mental and physical health. It can also be helpful to explore your goals in therapy.

7. Reset if you get off track

Another strategy to help you persist throughout the year: Don’t get discouraged if you do get off track. Take a cue from the Monday Campaigns and let Monday be your fresh start day. Meaning, once a week you recommit to yourself and your goals to improve your health. And maybe that starts on Sunday night, says James Rose, a senior research and policy analyst with the Monday Campaigns. “Over half—53%—said that taking some time on Sunday to prepare for the week would help them follow through with their Monday healthy intention,” Rose says of the recent survey. 

RELATED: Abandoned your resolutions? Here’s how to get back on track

And if New Year’s Day arrives, and you still don’t know whether or not you want to work toward a New Year’s Resolution or not, that’s okay, too. There’s never a bad time to resolve to do something to improve some aspect of your life. Even if you’re not ready on Jan. 1, 2022, you can always choose a goal when things feel a little less hectic.