The New Year Reset

The New Year Reset: Replace a Habit That’s Not Serving You and Learn What Actually Helps You Feel, Look, or Perform Better

Written by Kelly Dodds - Masters in Nutrition and Human Performance

Once the holiday chaos fades, there’s time to reflect on goals you have for the fresh new year. January offers a sense of renewal, a pause after holiday excess, and motivation to align everyday actions with long-term values.

Behavior change research consistently shows that people are more likely to initiate change during temporal landmarks (moments that psychologically separate “past me” from “future me”). A new year is a strong example.

January resolutions can often be extreme: All-in fitness plans, total food overhauls, “Dryuary,” or “New Year, New Me” energy. However, by February, most people have given up…not because they didn’t want to change, but because their approach wasn’t built to last. They may have made so many changes at once, that they were overwhelmed. But even more, they wouldn’t know which of the new behaviors had a meaningful impact with so many variables changed at once.

Let’s try something less aggressive. This January challenge is about taking a step back before taking a step forward to observe and strategize, to give us clarity and practicality. In science, experiments work because they are time-limited, structured, have a clear variable, and focus on observation, not judgment.

What is one habit in your life that may not be serving the person you want to become…and what could you replace it with? What happens if I try this for 30 days and pay attention?

No extremes required. No judgments. No identity overhaul. Just honesty and a 30-day experiment.

Awareness Comes Before Optimization

Healthy living isn’t about rigid rules. It’s about understanding how your body responds to everyday behaviors over time. Different people respond differently to dietary patterns, exercise programs, alcohol, meal timing, sleep routines, stress, and recovery.

A short experiment allows you to gather personal data:

How’s your energy during the day?
Are workouts feeling better or worse?
How is your sleep quality?
Do hunger or cravings change?
Does your mood or focus shift?

This information is more valuable than following generic advice blindly.

What Research Tells Us About Habit “Experiments.” And Why Motivation Alone is Not Enough.

Motivation is fleeting - Motivation changes moment to moment, especially under stress, fatigue, triggers, and time pressure. Relying on motivation can be too unreliable to gather meaningful data.
Habits change through repetition, not pressure - Behaviors become automatic gradually, often over several weeks or months. Expecting immediate permanence increases frustration and dropout. A short experiment lowers the stakes and increases follow-through.
Specific plans outperform vague intentions - Behavior change is more successful when actions are tied to clear cues (time, place, or situation). “Eat better” and “be healthier” rarely work because they lack specificity and measurability. Lasting change requires systems, environmental design, and action plans– not willpower. Action planning (“when X happens, I do Y”) is one of the most effective tools for behavior change.
Self-monitoring improves outcomes, regardless of “success” - Tracking isn’t about winning or losing. It’s about noticing patterns. Simply bringing more awareness to your behavior often leads to natural improvements, even without strict rules.

The January Reset Challenge: Replace One Habit

Instead of quitting a “bad habit,” this challenge is about replacing a habit that’s no longer serving you with one that better supports your health, energy, and long term goals. Even though we are technically changing two variables at once, habit swapping is more effective than just trying to end one habit.

Step 1: Choose Your Focus and Pick One Habit You Want Less of

Examples:

Alcohol intake
Late-night screentime
Sugary beverages or other “empty calories”
Skipping meals that leads to snacking or overeating later
Late caffeine that disrupts sleep
Too much sedentary time

Step 2: Add a Habit You Want More of

Examples:

Drink more water
A consistent bedtime routine
A larger, protein-forward breakfast
Attend 4-5 gym sessions per week
A 10–20 minute walk after meals
5–10 minutes of daily mobility

Choose what’s most relevant to you and what you want to learn.

Step 3: Write a Simple Experimental Plan

For instance

When (cue): When ______ happens (time, place, or situation)

Then (action): I will ______ for ______ (replacement and “dose”)

Examples:

“When I finish dinner, I’ll walk for 10 minutes.”
“When I feel the urge to pour a drink at home, I’ll choose a non-alcoholic option and wait 30 minutes.”
“When I get into bed, I’ll place my phone on the charger across the room.”

Think of this as defining the conditions of your experiment.

Step 4: Adjust the Environment (So Willpower Isn’t the Variable)

Make the experiment easier to do by adjusting your surroundings
Prepare the habit in advance (shoes ready, food prepped, block time on your calendar)
Add mild friction to the old habit so it’s harder to keep doing
Use a reminder, place a visible cue where the habit should happen
Create a convenient default option

Good experiments reduce noise, and our environment is one of the biggest sources of noise in human behavior.

Step 5: Observe (Don’t Judge)

For 30 days, track a few simple things daily:

Did you do the habit? (yes/no)
Time spent, how much, or frequency
A sentence about how you felt, what you notice

You’re not trying to be perfect. You’re collecting data. Missed days are just part of the dataset.

A Note on Alcohol Experiments (“Dry January”)

Many January challenges focus on abstaining from alcohol. For some people, that can be a valuable reset. Alcohol can negatively impact sleep quality, metabolic health, cognition, and long-term disease risk, even at moderate levels.

Options might include:

A full month without alcohol
Drinking only on specific days
Removing alcohol from the home
Reducing quantity per occasion

Pay attention to sleep, recovery, energy, mood, productivity, performance, and cravings. Let your experience inform future choices.

By the end of the month, you’ll have a more informed view of what worked, what didn’t, and what’s worth carrying forward. You can then decide if the new habit improved your life and will continue to improve your future.