Better Late: NOW is the Perfect Time To Make New Year’s Resolutions

If you like making resolutions, there’s no need to feel like you missed the boat just because we’re well into 2015. In fact, I’d say you’re probably better off making resolutions now than in a hungover haze on the 1st— once again, procrastination wins the day!

Here are the 5 reasons I’m a big fan of delayed resolutions- of course, if you don’t like making resolutions, simply carry on.

1. Less Reactive Resolutions: If I’d made my resolutions on January 1st, they would have been something like “Stop eating cookies/cookie dough all day every day,” “Stop spending money like water” and “Get to the gym for crying out loud”- but those would not be accurate goals for me to make. Fifty weeks of the year, I am a healthy-eating, financially responsible, workout-loving goody-goody, but the last two weeks of the year it’s all cookies and present-shopping, all the time. Why set goals based on two measly weeks of expensive, indulgent sloth?

2. Less Crowded Gyms: If you resolved to join a gym/class/pool and started going in early January, you might have quickly become frustrated with how crowded and chaotic your workout facility was. But now, after a month has gone by? Things are back to normal, you can actually get a machine, there are still free weights available in the rack, and you’ll even score a locker. Welcome!

3. More Mental Energy: In late December/early January, my poor brain is a slushy mush of checklists, gift lists, relatives’ scheduling conflicts, travel plans, family recipes, present hiding spots, delivery tracking, and checking balance concerns. There’s simply no room in there for thoughtful planning, earnest self-evaluation, or idealistic and/or realistic goal-setting- far better to take stock when I’m actually able to think straight.

4. After-Party Clarity: Many companies hold employee holiday parties in January because things are too nuts in December (this is particularly true in the service industry) while many families get together for holiday celebrations throughout the month so as to accommodate everyone’s schedule/other families (our get-togethers were January 17th and 31st). It’s hard to make cookie-free, stop-spending-money resolutions when there’s still baking, hosting, and traveling to be done. It’s easier to get a clear picture of goals and the year ahead once you’ve wrapped up the festivities from the year before.

5. Better Whenever Than Never: There was an excellent-as-always discussion on The Toast recently regarding resolutions, especially late ones (beginning with Rachel8489 at the bottom of Page 1). Lee Thompson put forth, “I don’t make any resolutions until half past February because then I can look back and see if managed to modify anything and take full credit for it if I did.” and Rillquiet wrote, “I set my all-time favorite resolution in July one year, so I’m a proponent of making them whenever you can articulate them.” July!

Have you made resolutions yet— or changed them already? Are you planning on making any?