学文网在新年来临之际，很多人都会许下新年决心（New Year’s resolution），希望在新一年里可以养成新习惯，完成新目标。然而我们很多时候都会许下不切实际或空泛的愿望（如多做善事、减肥、多看书等），于是到了年底，我们会发现没有几个可以实现。不想每年都重复这样的无用功？不妨试试每天集中精力做其中一件——这些事情要尽量简单可行哦。一周下来，也许你会发现自己取得了不少进步呢！
The New Year’s 1)resolutions you keep are those that become new habits. How do you create new habits? One of the best ways is to break down your larger goals—whether that’s bettering your health, as it so often is after holiday 2)binging, bettering yourself or bettering the world at large—into bite- sized guidelines and rules.
The larger goal has to be meaningful—you have to really want it—and the 3)stepwise goals have to be specific and 4)achievable. (I will lose weight by eating a healthier diet…by 5)swapping my afternoon cookie habit for the habit of an afternoon carrot.)
It can be hard to 6)tackle many goals at once, but here’s one 7)strategy: 8)identify one thing to focus on each day of the week, and before long the devotion to each day’s goal will 9)infuse the whole week’s activities. Here are some of our favorite ideas:
Meatless Mondays
You’re 10)convinced that a 11)vegetarian diet—or at least a diet with more vegetables than the one you eat today—is healthier for you and the planet, but despite the evidence, you can’t get on board with such a big change in your diet. So just go meatless on Mondays. Eating vegetarian one day a week will give you the space you need to get comfortable with new vegetarian 12)recipes, and before you know it, you’ll be eating more vegetarian meals throughout the week.
Trashy Tuesdays
Take a cue from New York City schools, which started Trayless Tuesdays as a way to experiment with reducing the number of 13)polystyrene 14)trays thrown out in its 15)cafeterias. Focus your attention on Tuesdays on your personal 16)waste stream—at mealtime, at home, at work, at the grocery store, at play. Just like time, waste is money. You can learn a lot about how you’re wasting money, as well as energy and natural resources, if you examine what you’re throwing out each day.
Why not start at home, with a DIY energy 17)audit, which will help you identify how you’re wasting energy so you can spend a future Tuesday 18)weatherizing your home.
19)Wacky Wednesdays
Maybe you love the idea of DIY creativity and 20)selfsufficiency, but struggle to find the time to start and complete new projects. The solution? Set aside a couple of hours every week to give yourself the time to create. Whether you’re making gifts, turning trash into crafts or taking all the rubbish out of your home to 21)boost its value and efficiency, the key 22)ingredient of success is time.
Thankful Thursdays
So much of life’s 23)anxieties—especially when it comes to goal-setting—is focused on what we’re not doing well, and what we’re not doing right. Take the time once a week to relax and 24)appreciate what you have. Spend time with family or friends, write a letter—or reflect on all the progress you’re making on those other resolutions.
Fruitful Fridays
Did you know that three-quarters of Americans don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables? At a minimum, U.S. 25)health agencies 26)recommend eating three 27)servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit every day. Even if you are in the minority of Americans that achieves this goal, it can’t hurt to 28)diversify with new fruits and vegetables that have different 29)phytonutrients. So make Fridays a day to try a new fruit or vegetable—and make it a fresh seasonal fruit or vegetable whenever possible for the best flavor and nutritional value.
Get Outside Saturdays
Most of us start the New Year with some sort of exercise goal—whether it’s hitting the floor for some pushups, or the gym for a daily 30)workout. But for those of us who have tried and failed to make exercise a part of our routines, a big problem is 31)fatigue—not physical fatigue, but 32)mental. The 33)treadmill isn’t any more exciting on Saturday than it was on Friday. So start an exercise 34)regimen, or spice up your existing routine, with a regular workout outdoors. Whether it’s biking on a new rail trail注1, hiking at a forest preserve or ice skating on a local pond, adding an element of exploration to your week will deepen your connection with the outdoors while improving your health—naturally.
Good Samaritan注2 Sundays
35)Generosity takes practice, just like anything else. Make good works a habit by doing one new good deed once a week. Maybe it’s volunteering (or planning a volunteer vacation), donating money (or even cell phones, clothes or other items) or just lending a hand to a neighbor. Whatever it is, you can make doing good a habit in 2013 by doing one good deed once a week.
在你许下的新年决心当中，能坚持下去的就会成为你的新习惯。你要如何培养新的习惯呢？其中一个最好的方法就是把你的大目标化整为零——无论是改善你的健康（经常出现在节假日暴饮暴食之后），还是自我提升，或是让世界更美好——把这样的大目标分成每次一小口的各种方针和守则。
大的目标要有意义，你真心实意地想实现它；分步的小目标则要具体化，而且是可以达成的。（比如，我要通过健康饮食进行减肥，方法是把下午吃曲奇饼的习惯换成吃胡萝卜。）
同时应付多个目标，确实不太好办。不过我们有一个策略：为一个星期的每一天分别确定一个焦点。不久以后，这种对每日目标的专注便会贯穿到整个星期的活动当中。以下是我们最喜欢的一些想法：
星期一——禁肉日
你相信素食——或者至少是比你现在的餐单含有更多蔬菜的食谱——对你自身以及地球而言都更有益处。尽管证据确凿，但要一下子对饮食做出如此巨大的改变，你还是无法付诸行动。所以，只在星期一不吃肉吧。每个星期吃一天素食，这能让你慢慢适应新的素食食谱。你一周吃素食的次数还会在不知不觉中增加呢。
星期二——环保日
从纽约的学校获取一点灵感吧——它们启动了“无托盘星期二”，试***以此减少食堂丢弃的聚苯乙烯托盘的数量。每逢周二，你可以关注个人垃圾的情况，包括在吃饭、在家、工作、在杂货店和玩耍的时候等等。时间就是金钱，废品也一样。仔细检查一下你每天扔掉的东西，你就更清楚自己是怎样浪费金钱、能源和自然资源的。
不妨从家里开始——自己动手做个能源评估，从而帮你看清浪费能源的状况。在以后的某个星期二，你就可以给自己家安装调节室温的设备了。
星期三——创造日
也许你喜欢创意DIY和自给自足，但很难腾出时间去开始和完成新项目。怎么办呢？每周预留几个小时，给自己足够的时间去创造吧。无论你是制作礼物，还是用废品制作工艺品，或是清理家中垃圾，以提高房子的价值和实用性——时间都是成功的关键因素。
星期四——感恩日
生活中有如此多的忧虑——尤其是与设定目标有关的忧虑——都是集中在我们做得不够好、不正确的事情上。每周找一点时间让自己放松下来，为你所拥有的心怀感激。找时间陪伴亲友，写一封信，或者是想想你的其他新年决心都取得了怎样的进展。
星期五——蔬果日
你知道吗？四分之三的美国人的蔬果摄入量不足。美国卫生机构建议每天至少要吃三份蔬菜和两份水果。即使你是达到这一标准的少数美国人之一，增加含有不同植物营养素的果蔬品种也是百利而无一害的。就把周五定为尝试新品种蔬果的日子吧——尽可能选择新鲜的时令蔬果，因为它们的口味和营养价值都是最好的。
星期六——户外日
新年伊始，我们大多数人都会制定某种运动目标——在地板上苦练俯卧撑，或是每天坚持到健身房锻炼等等。不过，有些人虽然努力想把运动融入到日常习惯当中，却没有成功，其中一个重要原因是倦态——不是身体上的疲倦，而是精神上的疲倦。星期六的跑步机并不比星期五更有魅力。把定期户外锻炼作为新运动计划的起点吧，或只是为现有的例行运动增添一些乐趣。为每个星期增加一点探险元素——你可以沿着新的铁路步道骑行，在森林保护区远足，或者在当地的池塘溜冰，这些都能加深你与户外的联系，又能“自然”地改善你的健康。
星期天——行善日
和其他任何事情一样，乐善好施也需要实践。每个星期做一件不同的好事，将善行变成习惯。这些好事可以是当志愿者（或是计划一次义工旅行）、捐钱（或捐手机、衣物或其他物品），或者只是向邻居伸出援手。不管是什么事情，你都可以通过每个星期做一件好事，让行善成为2013年的新习惯。