How to stick to your new year's resolutions.

Thirty-five percent of people who make New Year's resolutions break them by the end of January. Only 23 percent of everyone who makes a resolution will see it through to completion.

Are you part of the 77 percent who make resolutions only to find you've given up before you ever really got started? Let's break down how that happens.

One of the most common reasons we break our New Year's resolutions is that we get a little too ambitious when we make them and we over-commit. As a result, 40 percent of us blame our busy schedules for our lack of follow-through. It's easier to keep just one resolution rather than several.

Think Realistically About Your Resolution

Another part of the problem is that we often make the wrong resolution (or more than one wrong resolution). The key to successful goal-making is not to be hasty when you do it. Make resolutions you've thought through and are willing to dedicate your time and energy to. Don't make a resolution on the fly, because if you're not 100 percent committed to your goal, the odds of staying motivated are not in your favor.

It can be difficult to stay motivated even when you've chosen one well-reasoned goal. Many of us lack motivation and accountability, despite our best intentions. Remove an easy way out by sharing your plans with friends and family—the more who know your goal, the less likely you'll talk yourself out of sticking with your new habits. Despite what you might have heard, it can take longer than just 21 days for a lot of us to change a habit — one study found it took anywhere between 18 and 245 days. Sharing your goals with those close to you not only adds accountability — which many of us need to motivate ourselves — but it also gives you a support system.

Next, let's talk about how to make a New Year's resolution that you just might be able to make stick.

Stick To A Specific Plan, Set Deadlines

In the end, whether or not we keep our New Year's resolutions comes down to whether or not we give ourselves a resolution we can stick to. Resolutions that are simple with specific and realistic goals help. This is especially true for those of us who make goals like "get in shape" without then planning how we'll go about achieving the goal.

Not only are we not specific or realistic with ourselves, we don't give ourselves deadlines, and we don't track our progress. If you want to stack the odds that you will achieve your goal, define what your specific goals are and give yourself a deadline to meet those goals. Make the goal reasonable enough that you're not intimidated by it, and make the deadline realistic.

If you want to get in shape, make it your resolution to, for instance, always take the stairs. Keep a journal of your progress — the good and the bad (including those days when you took the elevator because you were running late) — to help keep yourself focused and on task.

Progress Reports Will Help Keep You On Track

Progress reports are a good way to keep yourself motivated and moving in the right direction toward your goal. Without them (and sometimes despite them) we can become discouraged. When we're discouraged, we tend to give up on the goal, but try to stay focused! Researchers have found that a few off-days from time to time doesn't have much effect on your overall success. Instead of giving up on your goal when you have a setback, take things one day at a time.

Researchers are also examining a phenomenon called decision fatigue. It plays a part in how likely we are to keep resolutions. The more decisions, even small ones, that you have to make in a day, the more depleted your willpower and self-control will be as the day wears on. Decisions can include deciding to go for a walk or run or selecting healthy foods. 

One Step At A Time

So think about how you can incorporate small steps to your goal in your daily life so they'll be automatic and require little or no decision effort. Making tough decisions related to your resolution early in the day could help ensure a successful outcome. For example, get your workout in early, or do your chores early in the day.

You don't have to have New Year's resolutions if you don't want to. Just because you don't pledge to change your habits at the beginning of each year doesn't mean you're not interested in self-improvement. Isn't it refreshing to learn that it's not realistic to expect you can break a habit in less than a month?