50% Brits plan to prioritise exercise in 2024 – New Year’s resolutions revealed

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Joanne Swann
woman exercising indoors

To exercise more has been ranked as the most popular New Year’s resolution for 2024 by 50%. However, in 2023, 30 million Brits started the year committed to their New Year’s resolutions, yet reports found that 21% of Brits only lasted a month before giving up!

Intrigued to find out more, Live Rugby Tickets conducted a survey of 2,000 participants, which concluded the most popular resolutions for 2024, as well as how many Brits are likely to stick to them, and how long for.

Key Findings:

  • Half of Brits plan to exercise more in the new year, ranking as the most popular New Year’s resolution.
  • Both men and women (27%) believe it is important to plan ahead to reach your goals.
  • Quitting smoking is the least popular goal, with only 6% voting this choice.

The UK’s 10 most popular New Year resolutions for 2024

Rank Resolution % of Participant Response
1 Exercise 50%
=2 Improve general health / wellbeing 43%
=2 Lose weight 43%
4 Improve saving habits 38%
5 Learn a new skill 20%
6 Travel 19%
=7 Take up a new sport 17%
=7 Stay organised 17%
9 Read 7%
10 Quit smoking 6%

To access the entire dataset, please view here.

UK strives for health and wellness

Resolutions relating to health seem to be on everyone’s mind for 2024, with the UK recently ranking as the 34th healthiest country in the world, according to a recent study.

The fourth most desired goal is to improve saving habits, as more than a third (38%) of respondents look to find tips and tricks to save those extra pennies. With the expense of Christmas and the ongoing cost of living crisis taking its toll, a third of Brits are also cutting back on festive spending this year.

Comparatively, women were found to be marginally more likely to commit to more personal goals such as to improve their wellbeing (6% more likely), staying organised (4% more likely), and improving their savings habits (7% more likely) than men are.

But Brits unwilling to commit…

The data revealed that despite their best efforts, both men and women were most likely to commit to these goals for just a few short weeks at the most, with nearly three in ten (29%) women, and more than a third (34%) of men stating this is the duration they felt they could commit to.

Sarah Bolitho, Behaviour Change Specialist, explained that three a three key reasons people give up on their goals.

  1. Firstly, the individual has set a superficial goal but has not thought about the deeper benefits or gains from it.
  2. Secondly, while the outcome goal has been set, the actual steps to achieve this successfully are not planned out.
  3. Thirdly, the individual does not begin their goal from where they currently are in terms of knowledge or ability, instead they jump ahead and expect to succeed instantly.

Sarah emphasises the importance of focusing on the journey, rather than the outcome.

My best advice is not to not set resolutions but instead start by focusing on one small positive change you can make in your daily routine. Simple changes will be gradually absorbed into your life and build confidence you need to accomplish bigger aims. I always advise my clients to start right now, not tomorrow, not next month, or even on the 1st of January. Do so now. If they aren’t ready to start today, then the likelihood is that they don’t really want the goal.

Sarah Bolitho, Behaviour Change Specialist

Joanne Swann, Content Manager, WorkWellPro
Editor at Workplace Wellbeing Professional | Website |  + posts

Joanne is the editor for Workplace Wellbeing Professional and has a keen interest in promoting the safety and wellbeing of the global workforce. After earning a bachelor's degree in English literature and media studies, she taught English in China and Vietnam for two years. Before joining Work Well Pro, Joanne worked as a marketing coordinator for luxury property, where her responsibilities included blog writing, photography, and video creation.

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