Five tips to help keep your New Year resolutions Just one in 11 people manage to keep their New Year resolutions for at least six months, according to new research. And almost four in ten break their resolutions within a fortnight. The study found nearly half say lack of willpower is to blame for their failure. And of those planning to make a New Year resolution, almost a fifth plan to cut back on booze. The poll of 4,000 adults by Cancer Research UK found 55 per cent have made New Year's resolutions in the past, and 23 per cent have made a resolution for 2013. Of those that plan to or are thinking about giving something up for 2013, 19 per cent said they would cut down on alcohol. Other popular New Year resolutions were to spend less money (34 per cent), cut down on chocolate (21 per cent), and go to the gym (22 per cent). Cancer Research UK is looking for volunteers to sign up for its new fundraising campaign, Dryathlon, which is encouraging people nationwide to test their willpower and take the challenge of staying off alcohol for January, raising money for a good cause at the same time. Ed Aspel, head of Dryathlon at Cancer Research UK, said: "We'd encourage the fifth of us who already plan to cut down on alcohol to go one step further and give Dryathlon a go - by raising some much-needed cash to help beat cancer, you'll have an even better reason to make it past the two-week mark and stick to the resolution for the whole of January." Five tips on how to stick to your resolutions: Pick one habit that will have the biggest impact on your life if changed and focus on it. Planning to hit the gym, give up Facebook and eat better all at once is taking on too much, according to research carried out by BJ Fogg, a psychologist and author of Persuasive Technology. Do not start by planning to train for an hour every day or eat nothing but meat and vegetables if that is a huge change in your habits. "If you're working out, aim for five to ten minutes a day," says Leo Babauta, author of The Power Of Less. Positive feedback from these tiny goals will help you tackle bigger tasks later. Focusing on what you are not going to do can lead to a "behavioural ironic rebound" - or, more simply, if you resolve to stop eating cake, you will eat more cake. According to research from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, you should focus on positives rather than negatives, such as resolving to eat more vegetables and protein. Programme your brain as you would a computer, says Professor Mark Conner of the University of Leeds. "Set up cues that prompt your planned behaviour," he suggests. For instance: "If I feel hungry before lunch then I will eat an apple, not a chocolate bar." Joining forces boosts your chances of sticking to your resolutions, according to Prof Conner. When groups were told to make plans with and without the help of friends, those who used a support group saw vastly increased chances of success.