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At the start of a new year, it’s hard not to get carried away by the allure of New Year’s resolutions: setting goals you want to achieve or identifying bad habits you want to get rid of.
For many people, it can be easier to get rid of bad habits when you replace a not-so-good behavior with a healthier option. Margaret Moorefounder of Wellcoaches Corporation, a school of expert health and wellness coaches, told CNBC Make It in 2023.
Neuroscientist Anne-Laure Le Cunff, PhD, suggests trying “small experiments” with habits you’d like to introduce into your life instead of setting huge goals that may be unrealistic. It is important to “withhold judgment until you have finished conducting your experiment”, Le Cunff told CNBC Make It last week.
In 2026, I’m simply looking to do less. In my later years, I started each day with at least 10 items on my to-do list. This year I want to reduce that list to five tasks or less.
I talked to my fellow CNBC Make It staffers about the bad habits they want to break this year and there were a few common themes. Here’s what stood out.
Screen time and technology
“One habit I’d like to break in the new year is waking up and grabbing my phone first thing in the morning. It’s something that’s been muscle memory for so long now that I can’t remember a time when I didn’t wake up and immediately grab my phone and check my messages or scroll through social media.”
“I’d also like to do more mentally stimulating activities when I’m bored instead of just picking up my phone or watching TV, or just doing things that don’t really challenge my mind.”
— Ashton Jackson, bestselling journalist
“I want to improve my sleep. I haven’t been sleeping well, and I want to fix that. I think I’m just not getting enough sleep and I’m also on a screen too much before bed. A lot of it is doom scrolling. My other problem is that if I’m trying to read and relax before bed, I’m reading e-books and this screen glitch is also a problem.”
— Sarah Jackson, professional journalist
“I avoid video games in January. So if I feel like playing a video game, I put on some music or read a book.”
— Mike Winters, financial journalist
“Bedtime for revenge”
Staying up late to get more free time, even if it cuts into the hours you would otherwise use to sleep and feel rested the next day, is called revenge bedtime. “This often happens when individuals feel they have little control over their daily schedule,” according to the Sleep Foundation.
“I’m very reluctant to watch TV until 12:30, so I want to have a hard ‘Go to bed’, no later than 11 o’clock. [p.m.] And I think it will help me break a lot of other bad habits that I have. Like after work, being too tired to be productive or do things, I think if I sleep well it will help me have the energy to exercise or be productive after work.
— Marisa Forziati, video editor
“Going to bed earlier is a big deal. It’s just hard, because with little kids it’s like if they go to sleep at 8 o’clock, it feels like freedom. It’s the push and pull of wanting to maximize that time with free time, but then also having to fall asleep. Trying to find that balance between creating space to relax but also to get a good rest.”
—Tom Huddleston Jr., Senior Success Reporter
No more giving up healthy habits
“One habit I want to break is becoming lazy while reading. It’s the hardest thing to force myself to do. I reduced my book quota for the year from 12 to 10 because I figured if it was 10, I would do it.”
— Gili Malinsky, senior psychology reporter
“Don’t skip my workouts, eat sugar, or hit snooze. I try to get up when the alarm goes off.”
— Kamaron McNair, financial journalist
“Having less FOMO with my friends. Like if they’re going out, I don’t have to go this time. If I miss this social plan, I’m not going to lose this friend, I don’t think. I hope not. I have a hard time saying no to invitations to things.”
— Raffi Paul, video producer
“I’m trying to walk more. I usually take the train to work, but if I can walk home, that adds a number of steps to my day.”
— Natalie Wu, associate financial reporter
As you look to break habits that aren’t working for you, Moore reminds you to leave some room for grace, especially if you’re a very disciplined person.
“There’s a part of you that needs to be free and forgiving and impulsive and enjoy life,” she said.
And if you’re having trouble keeping up with the changes you’re making to your routine, “there’s nothing inherently wrong with not being ready,” Moore added. “You’re just not ready. You’re not motivated enough and you have too many obstacles.”
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