The conventional wisdom is that New Year’s resolutions typically fail. But a closer look at the data shows that many people do benefit from making resolutions, and there are ways to improve your odds of success, experts say.

New Year’s resolutions have a bad reputation because people tend to grade themselves pass or fail when, in reality, they’ve made key improvements in various areas of their lives by mostly sticking to a resolution, experts say.

One reason New Year’s resolutions work for some people is that resolutions are a prime example of a psychological phenomenon known as the fresh start effect — a date on the calendar that gives people a sense of a new beginning and motivates them to make a positive change.

“New Year’s resolutions are not especially different from other goal-setting opportunities,” said Milkman, a behavioral scientist. “Good goals stretch you; they push you a little beyond where you would naturally go. And a stretch, by definition, is something that you can’t always hit.”

Try these tips to increase your chances of success:

• Set your New Year’s resolutions at the right time.  If your New Year’s resolution is going to involve a lot of sweating, make the plan while you are exercising.
• Make an explicit plan for achieving your goal. This includes thinking through ways to eliminate potential obstacles.
• Choose a goal you’ll enjoy. You’re more likely to succeed if you pick something you like to do or if you can find a way to make it more fun.
• Subtract things from your life, such as an activity you’re no longer committed to, so you have room for new goals.
• Forgive failures. Don’t define success as pass or fail. Celebrate small successes even if you don’t achieve 100-percent success. “If you’re setting tough goals, there will always be failure,” Milkman said.

The bottom line:

New Year’s resolutions are not doomed to fail, and many people achieve at least some of their goals. The key, experts say, is making a plan that maximizes your odds of success.