But Elspie, what on earth is an article about New Year’s doing coming out 24 days late? Well, to that I say, this is clearly an article in preparation for 2026 and is entirely unrelated to the fact that I’ve had mocks for the past two weeks.
As someone who was notorious for breaking their New Year’s resolution at a minimum of three days into the new year, I think I’ve finally cracked the secret to the perfect New Year’s resolution and have hence compiled a comprehensive explanation of my findings.
Firstly, consider what you want to become this year. How does the new year provide you with new opportunities to improve yourself? I personally think I haven’t tried enough muffin flavours. (I had my first lemon and poppyseed muffin this year and it was incredible – I would most definitely recommend it). It can be a big change, like being on time, or a little one, like being the person who can give a detailed explanation of the best muffin flavours (Current favourite is either a triple chocolate with chocolate sauce in the middle, the caramel/toffee flavour from café sixth or my Grandad’s banana muffins where the recipe accidentally tells you to cook them at 190 F instead of 190C). All that really matters is it’s something you want to become.
This brings me to the second point, it needs to matter to you. Does being late bother you? (yes immensely, but other people in my family aren’t fazed – believe me it makes for very stressful holidays). There’s no point in making a New Year’s resolution that you couldn’t care less about simply because it’s standard. Would most people be interested in trying to travel on all the new London Overground lines (see my other article)? Probably not. But believe me, I am very excited about it. It’s a New Year – you get to try and do all the wacky things you didn’t get a chance to do last year. What’s stopping you from carefully curating and listening to a playlist lasting longer than a week or trying to collect library cards from every borough in London?
You must have a plan. How are you going to achieve a new exciting 2026 you? (because of course this article is all about preparing for next year) I’m not talking about a light “Well, I’ll buy a planner, and it’ll make me more organised”. This plan needs to be foolproof, so well thought through my cat could follow it. Given my cat is incapable of using the cat flap even though both his brother and sister have given examples, you have your work cut out. Part of the process is recognising what works for you and what doesn’t. Some people are more productive in a group, others alone. Forcing yourself to work in a means that simply isn’t your best will never allow you to achieve your dreams.
Finally, and personally most importantly, it must make you laugh. This article has been filled with seemingly joke suggestions nestled among the more classic resolutions, but these are deadly serious. I genuinely do want to collect library cards from all the London boroughs and I want to ride on all the overground lines, and yes, those pursuits don’t make me a better person necessarily. It is not going to make me fitter, or tidier, it will not stop me from making mistakes or improving my spelling, but it makes me smile. Every time I think of New Year’s resolutions I crack a little grin. If my New Year’s resolution makes me happier, I say it’s the best kind.
