At the beginning of a new year, it’s hard not to fall in love with New Year’s resolutions: setting goals you want to achieve or identifying bad habits you want to break.
For many people, it’s easier to break bad habits when you change less-than-good behaviors to healthier ones, Margaret Moore, founder of WellCoaches Corporation, a school for coaches for health care and wellbeing professionals, told CNBC Make It in 2023.
Instead of setting big, potentially unrealistic goals, neuroscientist Dr. Anne-Laure Le Cunff suggests doing “small experiments” on the habits you want to incorporate into your life. Le Cunf told CNBC Make It last week that it’s important to “reserve judgment until the experiment is complete.”
In 2026, I simply want to do less. For the past few years, I’ve decided to start 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 spoke with 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
“The habit I want to break this New Year is reaching for my phone first thing in the morning. This has become like muscle memory for so long that I can’t remember a time when I didn’t immediately pick up my phone and check my messages or scroll through social media.”
“Also, when I’m bored, I want to do more mentally stimulating activities instead of just reaching for my phone or watching TV or doing something that’s not as taxing on my mind in a way.”
— Ashton Jackson, Success Reporter
“I want to fix my sleep. I’m not sleeping well and I want to fix that. I think it’s not just that I’m not getting enough sleep, it’s also that I’m looking at screens too much before bed. A lot of that is the worst scrolling. Another thing is reading e-books before bed when I’m trying to read and relax. Screen issues as well.”
— Sarah Jackson, Job Reporter
“I’m going to avoid video games in January. So if I feel like playing a video game, I’ll put on some music or read a book.”
— Mike Winters, Money Reporter
“Revenge Bedtime”
Staying up late to have extra free time is called revenge bedtime, even if it means cutting back on the time you spend sleeping and feeling rested the next day. According to the Sleep Foundation, “This often occurs when individuals feel they have little control over their daily schedule.”
“I’m really bad at watching TV until 12:30 or so, so I like to be strict and say, ‘Go to bed,’ no later than 11 p.m.”
— Marisa Forziati, Video Editor
“It’s important to go to bed early. It’s hard for little kids because they feel free if they go to bed at 8 o’clock. It’s a push and pull of wanting to make the most of their free time but also needing sleep. I’m trying to find the balance between having space to relax but also getting a good night’s rest.”
— Tom Huddleston Jr., Senior Success Reporter
No need to abandon healthy habits anymore
“One of the habits I want to break is being lazy about reading. It’s like the hardest thing to force yourself to do. I cut my annual book quota from 12 to 10 because I thought 10 would have been a real challenge.”
— Gili Malinsky, Chief Psychology Reporter
“I don’t skip training, I don’t eat sugar, I don’t hit snooze. I try to wake up when my alarm goes off.”
— Camaron McNair, Money Reporter
“I have less FOMO with friends. For example, if a friend is going out, I don’t have to go this time. I don’t think I’ll lose this friend if I miss this social plan. I hope I don’t. I’m not good at saying no to invitations.”
— Raffi Paul, video producer
“I try to walk more. I usually take the train to work, but if I can walk home, I get more steps in a day.”
— Natalie Wu, Associate Money Reporter
When trying to break a habit that doesn’t work for you, especially if you’re a very disciplined person, Moore cautions to leave yourself some grace.
“There’s a part of you that needs to be free, extravagant, impulsive and enjoy life,” she says.
And if you’re having trouble keeping up with the changes you’re making to your routine, Moore added, “There’s nothing inherently wrong with not being ready.” “You’re just not ready. There’s not enough motivation and there are too many obstacles.”
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