One thing that is often associated with the New year is new resolutions. Lots of people take up new year resolutions and then don't follow through. Apparently, only 8% of people keep their resolutions for the year. And often, most people have given up by February.

I do NOT do New Year resolutions. I do Year End resolutions. Here's what that means: I pick a 12-month resolution by Dec 1st and start implementing it right away. I've tried something different for the past two years - 2016 and 2017 and it has worked for me.

Here is why I believe its a better strategy -

1) You are in a better frame of mind and have more time at year-end.

We are gearing up for a relaxing week or two of well deserved rest to wrap up the year . We might have a vacation planned, might be just hanging out with friends or family, celebrating the year end festivities, or even just taking some quiet time to relax.

You certainly are in a better frame of mind and possibly have some down time to cultivate a new micro-habit (Richard Thaler won the Noble Prize on persuasion through small, incremental improvements).

Compare this with the time when you will be back from your vacation or otherwise down time. You may be feeling inspired or guilty but you have a lot less time at the start of the year. School for kids is starting, you have a backlog at work, there are things to catch up around the house. You are stressed to get back into the normal life. Not the ideal time to start a new, life changing habit.

2) You will prevent getting worse on the exact same goals that you will take up in a month!

Most of the New Year resolutions are the same year after year. Here is a typical one. Losing weight or starting to exercise finds its way right at the top, every year. Guess what? You are going gain a bunch of weight by binge eating, drinking, or not exercising enough during the year end.

What if you could prevent adding more weight before the year end. Forget losing weight, just use the inversion principle and don't add more weight. Perhaps be a bit more mindful before picking up the third piece of cake, or your 4th drink.

Exercise is similar! Even if you are on vacation, you could be just up and around or be really "active". Perhaps you should walk much more or take public transport rather than rent cabs or a car.

Lastly, lets say your goal is to save more money or get out of debt. You could start being just a tad bit more watchful of the spend over the holidays. Perhaps you could cook a nice meal together with your family as opposed to say, eating out days in a row! One you decide you want to save some money - no matter how little, and you do it for a while, during this next month, you will carry it on in January.

3) It takes 21 days to get started on a habit. Start with ONE now.

Maxwell Maltz has theorised that it takes 21 days to start a new habit that "sticks". While there are some critics to this theory, we humans are creatures of habit. Once we start, and stick with something, it is much harder to stop.

Well, December has 31 days, starting today (if you are keeping count, its way more than 21)! You need to do whatever new thing you are trying to do today - a few words in a new language, rekindle a relationship, eat more mindfully, start meditating, reading more, etc. If you are able to pull it off, trust me, you won't be able to stop yourself by the time the new year rolls around on Jan 1st.

4) Lead the herd on Jan 1st

As the old proverb goes, the early bird gets the worm. You are starting 31 days earlier than the rest of the "herd". By the time, the world starts thinking of the New Year's resolutions and implementing them, you have probably already formed your (micro-) habit. You are probably feeling better, perhaps have learnt something new, or at least not gained weight. You are already ahead. People are looking up to you. You can't let them down now! Perhaps, you even offer a gratuitous tip or two.

Well, there you have it. If you are like half the world, you have probably tried new year's resolutions for years. And if statistics are to be believed, you have probably not accomplished it.

What do you have to lose? Commit to one year end resolution now!

If you believe persuasion or other coaches, social commitment is key. Share your year end resolution with your friends or family. Post it on a social network. If you are feeling particularly brave, post it in the comments below!

About the Author -

(Amit Somani is a Managing Partner at Prime Venture Partners, an early stage Venture Capital firm based out of Bangalore, India. Prime VP invests in category creating, early stage companies founded by rock star teams. Prior, Amit has held leadership positions at Makemytrip, Google and IBM. He is also deeply engaged with the early stage startup ecosystem in India and actively volunteers with iSpirt, TiE and NASSCOM. He tweets at @amitsomani)

This article was originally published on Linkedin