Regarding the new year, peace activist Edith Lovejoy Pierce once said, “We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”

Many people use the new year as an opportunity to become a better person, whether by getting healthier, becoming more organized, or helping others. In fact, 45 percent of Americans make New Year’s resolutions every year, according to a 2013 study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology by the University of Scranton.  Seventy-five percent of people are able to keep their resolution through the first week. However, they backslide as time progresses, and only 8 percent achieve their goal by the end of the year. This small success rate of New Year’s resolutions sheds light on their current effectiveness and calls for a better way to leverage the opportunity of a new year.

Many studies indicate that specific goals are easier to attain than abstract ones. While looking closely at many common New Year’s resolution, it is clear that they lean more towards the abstruse side.   The top three resolutions for 2014 are losing weight, getting organized and spending less money. It’s hard to reach a goal when one doesn’t have specific steps to reaching that goal.

Last year, my own resolution was to get better grades, but instead it should have been starting my homework at 4 p.m. every day or turning off all electronics when doing homework.

If I had focused on these specific areas, rather than have a general concept in the back of my head, I would have been more productive and able to spend more time studying; better grades would just come naturally. Likewise, if my resolution this year was to be healthier, I should make it more specific, like going on the elliptical for 30 minutes a day or substituting an apple for a cookie every day. My dad’s resolution last year was to lose weight, and he would just occasionally go on the elliptical for a few minutes once a month wearing his house slippers because his goal was so abstract.

In addition, people are generally susceptible to caving in to their desires, so it’s a good idea to have an “accountability buddy”: someone who can help make sure they are on the right track towards their goal. For example, if I make turning off all electronics when doing homework my resolution this year, I could tell my mom and ask her to check up on me. And since I know I have little self control, I could even have her keep my electronics until I’m done with all my homework. When working alone at a resolution, it’s very easy to fall back.

Lastly, people need to celebrate successes between milestones, instead of waiting for the goal to be finally completed. This confirms the fact that everything they have sacrificed thus far to reach their goal is worth it. If my goal was to spend 10 minutes organizing my room every day, I could reward myself every month with something small, like a Starbucks drink, assuming I was still on track with my resolution.

I’m not trying to say that if you follow all of my tips, you will reach your resolution this year. However, by making resolutions more specific, celebrating small successes and using an accountability buddy, your chances of reaching your New Year’s resolution will greatly increase. Depending on what the resolution is, these small changes could potentially be life-changing—in a good way, of course.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Michelle Dai at [email protected].