Data shows resolutions will fail within 12 days – unless you live in San Francisco

Someone has worked out that the vast majority of New Year’s resolutions are broken by January 12. Yes. Exactly 12 days and it’s all over, writes Matthew Condon.

The most common resolutions around the world are to lose weight, exercise more and eat healthily. And someone has worked out that the vast majority of New Year’s resolutions are broken by January 12

LAST year one of my New Year’s resolutions was to get started earlier and put greater preparation into my New Year’s resolutions to increase the probability of my New Year’s resolutions actually working.

So here we are, four days out from the New Year, and I am happily preparing my New Year’s resolutions for 2019, and I’m happy because this 2018 resolution, though it took me all year, was the only one I kept from last year. That’s all about to change.

Though I may have over-prepared for my New Year’s resolutions, which may in fact be another of my last minute resolutions for 2019 – try not to over-prepare your New Year’s resolutions.

Truth be told, there is a dizzying volume of data, hypothesis, analysis, science, speculation, mathematics, social research and quackery that is the New Year’s resolution industry.

The most common resolutions around the world are to lose weight, exercise more and eat healthily. And someone has worked out that the vast majority of New Year’s resolutions are broken by January 12. Yes. Exactly 12 days and poof, it’s all over. How that precise date was arrived at is anybody’s guess, but in the resolution world, it’s Doomsday.

The most common resolutions around the world are to lose weight, exercise more and eat healthily.

It’s possible, too, in the resolution field, that some people have way too much time on their hands.

A US outfit called WalletHub recently published a survey on the best and worst American cities when it came to keeping New Year’s resolutions. Yes, they really did.

Their report said: “To determine where Americans are most likely to stick to their goals for 2019, WalletHub considered some of the most popular (and most commonly broken) resolutions to rank more than 180 US cities based on their conduciveness to self-improvement. In each city, we looked at a total of 56 key metrics, ranging from gyms per capita to income growth to employment outlook.”

If you have to know, San Francisco was top of the pops. The worst was poor old Gulfport, Mississippi.

Are Americans who live in Laredo, Texas (173rd on the list) thinking, “Well, gosh, I can’t keep my darned New Year’s resolutions here in Laredo, we better move to San Francisco or Huntington Beach, California (11th on the list), because my resolutions have a better chance there”.

If that wasn’t bizarre enough, the internet is now chock-a-block with not just suggested personal New Year’s resolutions for a better future, but resolutions aimed at specific groups, both human and non-human.

There’s a list of resolutions for cats on a website called Romper. Above, a Scottish Fold Shorthair. Photo: iStock

There’s a list of resolutions for cats on a website called Romper. They include: quit murdering stuffed animals; stop showing your butthole to everyone; stop staring into corners; and kick the book-chewing habit.

There are resolutions for cyclists. Find new roads to ride on. Get a friend or family member into cycling.

You can have home-related resolutions. Declutter. Put your holiday decorations away early.

There are even resolutions for getting a better night’s sleep.

Julia Guerra of Elite Daily said this month: “The holidays are full of lists – wishlists, to-do lists, shopping lists. If I had to narrow it down to only one that I felt was absolutely necessary to write out and check twice, though, it would have to be my New Year’s resolutions. Hear me out: How much of 2018 did you spend finetuning your self-care? Because, listen, I get it: The past 365 days were a lot, and time somehow always feels limited. But 2019 should be about making positive changes, and setting wellness goals – like New Year’s resolutions for better sleep, for example – that you’ll actually keep.”

One of my resolutions is to find a country where New Year’s resolutions don’t mean a thing.

One of the key resolutions is “set an intention to spruce up your sleep hygiene”. Sleep hygiene? Have I been a dirty sleeper all this time without knowing it? The article explained that “sleep hygiene” was “setting a schedule for your sleep and wake times, making sure you’re getting enough sunlight during the day, limiting light exposure at night, limiting your caffeine and alcohol consumption, and creating a sleep environment that is relaxing for you”.

I discovered a recent exhaustive survey conducted by Expat Insider that had worked out the best places in the world to successfully fulfil your New Year’s resolutions.

If you resolve to lead a healthier life, the survey suggests you move to Austria. The survey concluded, “Austria seems to have cracked the code to a healthy lifestyle: it has a great overall performance for the affordability of healthcare, the quality of medical care, and the quality of the local environment”.

If your resolution is to start a family, then you might be headed to Finland. Want to find a new partner? Chile is the place for you. Want to find a new hobby? Spain is the place. Want to save money? You’ll soon be settling in Colombia.

One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2019 is to find a country where New Year’s resolutions don’t mean a thing. Perhaps I’m already living in it.

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