New Year’s Resolutions by the Numbers (and One You Can Actually Keep)

Happy New Year! (Almost)

If you’re like most people, the new year comes with good intentions — and a mental list of resolutions that feel right in the moment.

Exercise more. Eat healthier.Lose weight. Get organized.

Sound familiar?

Here’s what the data tells us:

• About 30–40% of Americans even make a New Year’s resolution

• 23% give up in the first week

• Over 80% abandon their resolutions before the year is over

• Only about 9% actually follow through long-term

That’s really bad…

The most common resolutions? You already know them. Exercise more, eat better, save money, get organized, spend more time with family — all great goals, and all very easy to postpone once life gets busy. Duh.

So this year, I want to suggest a different kind of resolution.

A resolution you can actually finish

Most resolutions fail because they’re vague, ongoing, or hard to measure. But some goals are concrete. You either do them — or you don’t.

Things like:

• Creating an estate plan

• Updating an outdated plan

• Reviewing beneficiaries and trustees

• Making sure your family and assets are actually protected

These are resolutions you can check off. I like checking stuff off lists. It feels good. 

No daily willpower required. No gym membership. No calorie counting.

You can even go back to eating donuts tomorrow — but this is one important thing you can get done and feel really good about.

Start the year with peace of mind

If creating, updating, or reviewing your estate plan has been sitting on your to-do list for a while, the start of the year is a perfect time to finally cross it off.

I’d be happy to help you start the year off right.

Wishing you a happy, healthy, and well-planned New Year,

Tom Turnbull

Next Phase Law