As the evenings draw in and another year approaches its final chapter, it is tempting to put our ambitions on hold. We tell ourselves that January will be different. We will feel more motivated, have more time and finally make the changes we have been thinking about.
But why ask the first day of a new year to do all the work?
November offers something valuable: time to reflect, decide, prepare and begin. Rather than arriving at New Year’s Eve with a hurried list of promises, we can enter January with a clearer direction and practical experience of taking action.
The research makes a compelling case for this approach, with one important distinction. The studies discussed here do not establish that choosing goals in November automatically produces better results than choosing them in January. They show that specific goals, practical action plans, consistent repetition and progress monitoring support achievement. Starting now gives us more opportunity to put those ingredients in place.
The advantage lies in what we do with the extra time.
A resolution can open the door
New Year’s resolutions are not inevitably empty. In a study involving 1,066 participants, Oscarsson and colleagues (2020) found that 55% of those responding at the one-year follow-up considered themselves successful in sustaining their resolutions. This was self-reported success among respondents, rather than proof that everyone who sets a resolution has the same chance of achieving it.
The study also found greater reported success for approach-oriented goals, which focus on something to do, than avoidance-oriented goals, which focus on something to stop: 58.9% compared with 47.1%.
For someone hoping to develop professionally, “I will make time for learning twice a week” offers a more useful direction than “I must stop neglecting my development”.
January can provide a motivational lift. Dai, Milkman and Riis (2014) describe the “fresh start effect”: temporal landmarks, such as a new week, month or year, can encourage aspirational behaviour. However, their research concerns motivation and initiation; a fresh start is not a guarantee of lasting change.
November planning allows us to use January’s symbolism with a plan already underway.
Good intentions need a practical route
Wanting a different future matters, but wanting alone is rarely enough.
Webb and Sheeran’s (2006) meta-analysis found that a medium-to-large experimental change in intentions produced a smaller change in behaviour. Put simply, making people more determined does not translate into an equally large change in what they do.
That gap will feel familiar to anyone who has bought a planner, announced a goal and then struggled to make space for it in an ordinary working week.
November provides room to investigate that gap before making another promise. What interrupted progress this year? Was the goal unclear? Did it require time that was never protected? Were you missing a skill, support or a realistic first step?
These questions shift the emphasis from blaming yourself to improving your approach.
Imagine planning to begin a professional qualification in 2027. During November, you could explore the course requirements, discuss study time with your family or manager, review the costs and trial two weekly study sessions. By January, your ambition would have a place in your life.
Give success a clearer shape
Locke and Latham’s (2002) review of goal-setting research explains how specific, challenging goals can improve performance, with important conditions including commitment, feedback, ability and task complexity.
“Have a better year” may express a sincere wish, but it gives you little guidance when deciding how to spend Tuesday afternoon.
A clearer goal might be:
“By the end of March 2027, I will complete the first unit of my coaching qualification, protecting two study sessions each week and reviewing my progress every Friday.”
This identifies an outcome, a timeframe and a repeatable commitment. It also creates something you can review and adjust.
For unfamiliar or complex work, include learning goals. Before demanding that you become an outstanding coach, manager or business owner, identify the knowledge and skills you need to practise.
Use November to choose a small number of meaningful priorities. Ask what each goal would improve, why it matters to you and what you are prepared to give it in time and attention.
A longer list is not necessarily a stronger plan.
Turn “I will” into “when and how”
One of the most useful findings in goal-achievement research concerns implementation intentions: plans that connect a specific situation with a specific action.
Gollwitzer and Sheeran’s (2006) meta-analysis of 94 independent tests found a medium-to-large average positive effect of these plans on goal attainment. This is an average across studies, not a promise of a particular result for every person.
The practical format is straightforward:
If this situation occurs, then I will take this action.
For example:
- If it is Tuesday at 7 pm, I will work on my learning module for 30 minutes.
- If an urgent commitment disrupts that session, I will use my reserved Saturday morning slot.
- If I feel unsure about an assignment, I will write down my questions and contact my tutor.
These examples are applications of the research, rather than tested prescriptions for every learner.
Their value is that they settle decisions before the busy or difficult moment arrives. You have already considered when to act and how to respond when your original plan is interrupted.
Starting in November gives you time to discover whether your plan works in practice. An inconvenient study slot can be moved. An unrealistic workload can be reduced. A missing resource can be found.
Build familiarity before demanding consistency
It is easy to expect January motivation to carry us through a complete transformation. Habit research suggests a more patient approach.
Lally and colleagues (2010) studied people repeating a chosen eating, drinking or activity behaviour in a consistent context. Their modelling showed substantial variation in how long automaticity developed, with estimates ranging from 18 to 254 days. This was not a study of every kind of personal or professional goal, and it does not establish a universal timetable for forming habits.
The useful lesson is that repetition takes time and people differ.
A November start cannot guarantee that a behaviour will feel automatic by January. It can provide additional opportunities to practise.
You might begin with ten minutes of reading after breakfast, a brief Friday reflection or one protected learning session each week. Keep the first commitment manageable enough to test in your real circumstances.
The purpose is to learn how to keep returning to an action that matters.
Make progress visible
A plan needs more than a place in a notebook. It needs regular attention.
Harkin and colleagues’ (2016) meta-analysis covered 138 studies involving 19,951 participants. Interventions that encouraged progress monitoring improved goal attainment on average. Effects were larger when progress was physically recorded and when outcomes were reported or made public.
This supports a practical habit: review your goals regularly and record what has happened.
Set aside a short weekly appointment with yourself. Consider what you completed, what changed, what got in the way and what needs to happen next. Where useful, discuss progress with a coach, tutor or trusted accountability partner.
Track both your actions and the results you want. Completing study sessions is useful information; understanding the material and meeting assessment requirements also matter.
A review is an opportunity to learn. If your approach repeatedly fails to fit your circumstances, change the approach rather than repeating the same promise with greater frustration.
Your November starting point
You do not need to map every detail of 2027. Begin with a short planning session and five practical steps:
- Review 2026 honestly. Identify achievements, setbacks, unfinished ambitions and lessons you want to carry forward.
- Choose your priorities. Select up to three goals that would make a meaningful difference to your personal or professional life.
- Define an early milestone. Describe what worthwhile progress could look like by the end of March.
- Take a small action now. Book a conversation, investigate a course, organise your resources or test a weekly routine.
- Schedule your reviews. Put time in your diary to check progress and adapt your plan.
This is a practical application of the research, rather than a scientifically validated five-step programme.
There is no need to turn the final weeks of the year into a race. Preparation can be calm, thoughtful and proportionate. Even a modest start can reveal what your future plans will require.
Building on KickStart-2026
At the UK College of Personal Development, we are building on the success of our KickStart-2026 campaign as we look towards the year ahead.
The 2026 programme was designed as a four-week coaching experience within the UKCPD Campus Be Inspired Group. Its published format combined live coaching, reflective tools, practical action, progress tracking and community encouragement, with optional accountability buddy check-ins.
The journey moved from establishing direction to taking first steps, addressing a barrier and reflecting on how to continue. It brought together several of the practical ingredients explored in this article: clarity, action, review and support.
KickStart-2027 launches in mid-November 2026.
Building on the success of the 2026 campaign, this next chapter is an invitation to begin thinking about your future before the pressure of New Year’s resolutions arrives.
Take time to recognise what you have learned. Decide what deserves your attention next. Give your ambitions the structure and support they need.
You do not have to wait for midnight on 31 December to begin creating a more purposeful year. Take the first step and join the Be Inspired Group – further information of the KickStart-2027 campaign will follow.
Let January find you already moving forward.
References
- Dai, H., Milkman, K. L., & Riis, J. (2014). The fresh start effect: Temporal landmarks motivate aspirational behavior. Management Science, 60(10), 2563–2582. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1901
- Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(06)38002-1
- Harkin, B., Webb, T. L., Chang, B. P. I., Prestwich, A., Conner, M., Kellar, I., Benn, Y., & Sheeran, P. (2016). Does monitoring goal progress promote goal attainment? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 142(2), 198–229. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000025
- Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W., & Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998–1009. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.674
- Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705–717. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.57.9.705
- Oscarsson, M., Carlbring, P., Andersson, G., & Rozental, A. (2020). A large-scale experiment on New Year’s resolutions: Approach-oriented goals are more successful than avoidance-oriented goals. PLOS ONE, 15(12), e0234097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234097
- Webb, T. L., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Does changing behavioral intentions engender behavior change? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 132(2), 249–268. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.2.249
- UK College of Personal Development. (2026, January 2). Kickstart 2026: Your Super January starts here. https://ukcpd.co.uk/kickstart-2026-your-super-january-starts-here
