People

• You’ve committed to a healthier lifestyle and are determined that this time is going to be different.
• Your refrigerator is stocked with fruits and veggies, you’ve tossed out processed foods, and your workout routine is written in pen in your daily planner.
• Thinking about these long-term consequences, the argument goes, should help you avoid indulging right now and better stick to your goals.

To resist temptation, think short term

• We tested this approach in seven studies with over 4,000 participants.
• In one study, we invited university students to view one of two public service announcements detailing reasons to avoid energy drinks.

• Those who read about the short-term costs were 25% less likely to choose the energy drink than those who read about the long-term costs.
• For fast food, think about how it can make you feel bloated or give you indigestion.
• The takeaway is simple: To avoid indulging, think short term.

Focus on the fun of healthy options

• On the flip side, can you nudge yourself toward consuming more healthy foods?
• These findings were independently replicated in an intervention at five university dining halls that used food labels focused on either tastiness or healthfulness.

• In one study, Kaitlin asked gymgoers to choose a weightlifting workout from a list of similarly difficult routines.
• The participants who were instructed to select a fun exercise completed more reps than those told to pick an exercise most useful for their long-term fitness goals.

Timing the reward sweet spot

• One strategy for persistence is to use rewards to stay committed.
• It seems rewards are most effective when people have to work to unlock them, after which they become regular.

• They ended up persisting longer and completing more workouts than people in a lump-sum group who received a larger, occasional reward for every four workouts they finished.
• People in the work-to-unlock-rewards group – three days of flossing without rewards followed by daily rewards – flossed for more days than those who received continual rewards right way.

Resistance, enjoyment and persistence

• Our research highlights three effective strategies to help you achieve your goals: prioritizing short-term consequences to resist temptation, finding enjoyment in long-term choices, and continually rewarding yourself for sustained persistence.
• What’s great about these strategies is that you can adapt them to any personal goal you hold.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• Despite their popularity, up to 80 per cent of resolutions fail, mostly within a few weeks.
• I research the importance of behaviours to health, and write the Become Your Healthiest You blog.

Setting SMART resolutions

• Using the SMART goal framework (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely) is a good foundation for setting your resolution.
• Unfortunately, most people set vague resolutions, such as wanting to exercise more, be healthier or lose weight.

• Also, aim for positive resolutions such as eating more vegetables, in contrast to eating no junk food.
• In a survey of 1,066 people, those who had approach-oriented resolutions were more likely to be successful.
• Big, long-term resolutions may be more easily approached by breaking them into smaller ones.
• However, your resolution also needs to be challenging, as challenging ones result in better performance and are also found to be more satisfying than easier resolutions.

• Relevant resolutions are more likely to be intrinsic in contrast with extrinsic ones, which are externally motivated (such as getting a promotion, winning a trophy or receiving praise).
• Extrinsic resolutions tend to be fleeting while intrinsic resolutions are associated with greater well-being and satisfaction.

Succeeding at your resolution

• In some cases, you may need to change your environment to be more supportive of your resolution.
• If your resolution requires starting a new habit, combine it with a habit you already do.

• If you want to start exercising, bundle it with a favourite TV show, podcast or music.
• People who used temptation bundling with audiobooks were more likely to keep up with their exercise routine.
• Enlisting the support of others can also help in achieving your resolution.

instrumental support consisting of someone doing something for you, such as driving you to the gym or helping in meal planning;
informational support in the form of someone giving you advice, whether it be from family, friends or professionals such as your doctor or a dietitian;
appraisal support, including evaluation and constructive feedback, which may come from the same people who provide informational support; and
emotional support from people providing love, empathy and caring.

Challenges and setbacks happen

• Even with proper planning, challenges and setbacks can happen and are a normal part of any process of changing one’s behaviour or attempting something new.
• Some setbacks may be temporary, such as an illness interrupting your exercise program.
• Starting a new behaviour can sometimes be a process of trial and error, and learning from setbacks can support future success.

Scott Lear receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Hamilton Health Sciences, and has received funding from the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Novo Nordisk, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

• But the soaring popularity of podcasts like The Penguin Podcast and NPR’s Book of the Day reveals something more.
• As writer Tom McCallister points out, while traditional reviews may be in decline, literary podcasts are not just “filling the void”.
• Like community reviews and the more recent surge of #BookTok and #Bookstagram content on social media, literary podcasts feed the rich social networks that form around books.
• But literary podcasts invite audiences to engage with books and writing in all kinds of ways.

1. The Garret

If books are divisive, literary podcasts are too. What’s enjoyable for one listener might not work for another. My own listening habits are driven largely by curiosity rather than loyalty: I listen to episodes haphazardly, when a particular guest, topic or title tempts me, dropping down the rabbit hole of whichever book I happen to be reading.

• That said, I return most often to The Garret, an Australian podcast for “lovers of books and storytelling”.
• She interviews authors about craft, criticism and some of the stories behind the stories that have found their way to publication.

2. Secrets from the Green Room

Australians are some of the world’s most enthusiastic podcast listeners, so it’s little surprise we produce some of the best bookish podcasts around.
Secrets from the Green Room is dedicated to author stories you “won’t hear anywhere else”. Irma Gold and Karen Viggers publish new episodes every few weeks. They invite guests to candidly share their own experiences navigating the world of publication, landing on topics as varied as ghostwriting, the “creep” of imposter syndrome, and the challenges of teaching writing at university.

3. Read This

The Monthly’s weekly offering, Read This, features interviews with prominent writers from Australia and around the world. Its first episode took host Michael Williams (editor of The Monthly) to Helen Garner’s house for “conversation and cake”. Later guests have included Rebecca Makkai and George Saunders.

4. Beyond the Zero

Beyond the Zero also spotlights new titles through extended conversations with both local and international authors. Each episode is a deep dive into the books and writers that have influenced the guest, so far ranging from Booker winner Paul Lynch to Australian literary authors like Emmett Stinson on Gerald Murnane.

5. The First Time

On The First Time podcast, novelists Katherine Colette and Kate Mildenhall take readers behind the scenes, into the “logistics and feels of writing and publishing a book”. They regularly feature debut authors, as part of their (paid) Featured Book series. There’s also a Masters series, with veteran writers like Richard Flanagan, and episodes that deal with “awkward” conversations, including how book endorsements work.

6 & 7. ABC RN: The Bookshelf and The Book Show

• On The Bookshelf, Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh review newly published fiction, alongside guest reviewers, in hour-long episodes broadcast every Friday.
• This year, The Book Show also ran a fascinating four-part series on literary fakes and frauds, starting with the John Hughes scandal.

8 & 9. The New Yorker: Fiction and Poetry podcasts

• Each month, the magazine’s fiction editor, Deborah Treisman, invites some of the world’s most celebrated authors to read aloud from another author’s work.
• (And if you’re a fan of the read-aloud format, you might also enjoy The New Yorker’s Poetry podcast.)

10. Backlisted

Presented by John Mitchinson and Andy Miller, Backlisted solicits a writerly guest to choose a book they love and wax lyrical about why it deserves a wider audience (like Jennifer Egan and Nell Stevens on Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South). Recently celebrating its 200th episode, Backlisted prides itself on “giving new life to old books” – a refreshing alternative to literary podcasts that focus almost exclusively on recent releases.

11. Overdue

• Overdue, a podcast “about the books you’ve been meaning to read”, is also sure to add some dog-eared classics to your to-be-read pile.
• Try the episode about Camus’s The Stranger if – like me – you only pretended to read it in high school.

12. Book Riot

For listeners interested in industry trends, the Book Riot podcast publishes weekly episodes that revolve loosely around “what’s new, cool, and worth talking about in the world of books and reading”. Jeff and Rebecca, who also edit the Book Riot website, serve up a gratifying mix of book-related commentary and news, including reading recommendations, awards chatter and emerging or evolving issues (think book bans and generative AI).

13. If Books Could Kill

• If Books Could Kill offers a diverting but incisive take on “the airport bestsellers that captured our hearts and ruined our minds”.
• As a scholar of self-help books, I was primed to regard this podcast with deep suspicion, but the episodes are well researched and thoroughly entertaining.

14. & 15. Reading Glasses and Marlon and Jake Read Dead People

• Reading Glasses is a podcast about “reading better” that includes an episode on how to get borrowed books back.
• And in Marlon and Jake Read Dead People, Man Booker Prize winning author Marlon James and his editor, Jake Morrissey, share big opinions on all things books, authors and writing – like our evergreen quandaries around reading good books by terrible people or judging a book by its cover.

Amber Gwynne does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• The start of the new year brings inevitable pressure to start fresh, with new hobbies, exercise regimes and healthy diets.
• But there is one diet you may not have thought of improving this year: your media and news consumption.
• We have more access to information than ever, but not all of it is good quality.
• Here are a few tips to help you build a more varied and high-quality media diet.

1. Be curious about other viewpoints

• This can mean that inaccurate information is included, so long as it fits the narrative of what the user wants to click on.
• If something you come across online fits neatly in your pre-existing narrative, it may be the result of a process of self-selection, combined with algorithmic personalisation.
• This may also help “trick” an algorithm into feeding you more sources you wouldn’t otherwise come across.

2. Keep an eye out for attention-seeking

• Remember that what you read online might not be a reflection of what people think, but what they think will attract more attention (and upset more people).
• A 2022 study found, that in an attempt to gain a greater following, people expressed amplified versions of their actual opinions.

3. Recognise and share balanced sources

• The authors of the 2022 study found that social media platforms could reduce polarisation by flooding the “information environment” (users’ social media feeds) with balanced sources.
• Of course, most users cannot produce balanced news, nor can we predict what the algorithm will propose.
• However, we can recognise bias in the news and actively try to counteract it by sharing other, reliable sources.

4. Beware of strong emotions

• Publishers and social media companies do their utmost to try and elicit strong emotions in users, particularly emotions that make them feel positive or negative arousal (awe v anger).
• This is because news that elicits these emotions is more likely to go viral.
• You may find that the emotions you feel drive you to take action for a cause you care about.

Sharon Coen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.