As the calendar turns toward 2026, many of us find ourselves revisiting the familiar ritual of making New Year's resolutions: lists of intentions meant to bring clarity, balance, or renewed purpose. And yet, especially for graduate students, the start of a new year arrives in the thick of ongoing commitments, research deadlines, teaching responsibilities, and the quiet but constant hum of academic pressure that follows you from lab bench to library desk.
When I first began graduate school, I remember writing resolutions in the margins of my planner with promises to wake up earlier, be more active, or stay on top of chores. By March, most of those intentions dissolved under the weight of coursework, the unpredictability of research, and, frankly, the perfectionism that often trails graduate students like a shadow. Over time, I realized that lasting change looks less like a dramatic overhaul and more like the quiet, steady cultivation of daily habits that keep us grounded.
This month, I spoke with Dr. Aisha Usmani, director of the Adult Intensive Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (AICBT) Program and a staff psychologist at the Center for OCD and Related Disorders (CORD) at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School (HMS). Also an assistant professor of psychology at HMS, Usmani brings expertise in cognitive-behavioral and mindfulness-based treatments that offer a powerful framework for graduate students to design resolutions that last throughout the year.
The Graduate Student Balancing Act
When asked about the biggest well-being challenges facing graduate students today, Usmani emphasized how the modern academic environment creates constant cognitive demands.
“The demands are large on students to begin with,” she noted. “Add to that competing attentional demands of being on-call for a lot of the time.” From the expectation to respond to messages and emails quickly, to the endless stream of alerts and social media, students are often functioning in a state of continuous partial attention that drains energy even on seemingly quiet days.
This baseline noise makes it harder not only to focus, but also to sustain the routines that support well-being. Intentionality, then, becomes less of a luxury and more of a necessity.
Mindfulness for Busy Schedules
Mindfulness is often proposed as a solution to stress, but many students feel they’re too busy to incorporate it. Usmani quickly dispelled the misconception that mindfulness must always involve lengthy meditation sessions.
Quoting her favorite definition from Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, she explained that, “mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.” And crucially, it does not always require stepping away from your day. “You can meditate mindfully, but you can also wash dishes mindfully … you can send an email mindfully.”
For students racing between classes, labs, and reading assignments, she suggests brief mindfulness practices like focusing on the in-breath and out-breath, trying a simple “breathing space” exercise, or bringing awareness to a single everyday action, like that first sip of tea, or one brushstroke while brushing your teeth.
Practiced in small moments, mindfulness becomes a form of recalibration instead of another item on an already full to-do list. As she put it, “The hope is that when I choose to be mindful, I can. And when I choose not to be mindful, I’m aware that I’m not mindful.” That agency is the goal. (For more on mindfulness and meditation and how the two change your brain, check out this conversation with Harvard Griffin GSAS alumnus and University of Wisconsin neuroscientist Richard Davidson.)
Why Resolutions Fail—and How to Make Them Stick
If mindfulness invites us to slow down, cognitive-behavioral science encourages us to zoom in and break big aspirations into small, achievable steps.
New Year’s resolutions often falter, Usmani explained, because “they have a little bit of that all-or-none mentality.” Rather than assuming the new year calls for a dramatic reinvention, she recommends thinking of habit-building “like shaping a sculpture,” gently chipping away instead of expecting overnight transformation.
If your resolution is to exercise more, for example, start with once a week . . . not five. If you know accountability helps, find a friend to go with you. And pair new habits with what psychologists call “reinforcers,” small, meaningful rewards that encourage consistency. “For example, if I go to the gym . . . then at the end of the week I get to watch a movie at the theater,” Usmani offered. “Small reinforcers can increase our chances” of following through.
Perhaps most importantly, resolutions should be aligned with personal values, not driven by external pressure. “Goals have a finish line . . . but valued living is more of a consistent [process].” She suggests checking in with yourself to ensure, “every day I am doing things that are consistent with what's important to me.” When your resolutions reflect your own values, they feel less like obligations and more like affirmations of the life you want to build.
When Motivation Starts to Fade
A familiar pattern sets in each spring: the early-semester motivation wanes, and the momentum behind new routines slows. Instead of self-criticism, Usmani urges students to practice gentleness and curiosity.
“Be human with yourself . . . just use it as a data point to problem-solve.” Perhaps the resolution was too ambitious for the realities of mid-semester. Perhaps it suited you in January, but it no longer serves you in April. Adjusting course is not failure, it’s a sign of flexibility and self-awareness.
She encourages students to ask, “Is this still important to me? What got in the way? What might feel more realistic now?” This detective-like mindset, grounded in observation rather than judgment, makes long-term change more sustainable.
Making Small Resolutions with Big Impacts
When I asked her what one small, sustainable mental-health-supporting resolution she would recommend to every graduate student, Usmani offered a wonderfully simple answer drawn from the work of Dr. Marsha Linehan, “Do one thing every day that you truly enjoy doing.”
Nothing extravagant or time-consuming, just a moment of genuine pleasure. Listening to ocean sounds. Petting a dog. Watching your favorite show. And pair this with one thing each day that helps you feel accomplished, like making your bed, reading one page of a book, or cleaning a corner of your desk.
Finally, she recommends research from the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at MGH on the benefits of noticing one meaningful human interaction each day, no matter how small. “Somebody smiled at you . . . somebody opened the door for you . . . just note that.” These moments of connection remind us that we are part of a community, even during the most isolating stretches of graduate life.
Entering the New Year with Kindness for Yourself
Graduate school is full of transitions, like finishing coursework, advancing to candidacy, beginning a dissertation, or preparing to graduate. These milestones can bring excitement, pressure, and uncertainty all at once. During such periods of change, Usmani offers one final reminder: “Don’t make anything too big to start with . . . and remember that change is typically not linear.” Some days will feel aligned with your intentions; many won’t. But every day you have the chance to begin again.
As we step into a new year, aim for your resolutions to be gentle, grounded, and shaped by what truly matters to you. Not by the pressure to be perfect, but by the desire to live with presence and purpose.
And remember: whether you’re navigating new habits, changing routines, or unpredictable ebbs and flows of graduate life, my colleagues and I at the Office of Student Services are always here to support you, every step of the way.
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