We’re a nation of resolution makers – they tell me 80 per cent of us say we have vowed to change the way we conduct our professional and personal lives at a new year but more than half of us fail to keep our pledges.

And it gets terribly repetitive: we keep making the same promises and breaking them every year. However well-intentioned you may be, your New Year resolutions have little chance of being fulfilled unless you set clear goals and focus on the rewards.

Think through exactly what you will do, where you will do it, and at what time. Vague plans fail.

For example, instead of saying that you will go running two days a week, tell yourself that you will run on Tuesday and Thursdays at 6pm.

The most popular resolution, apparently, falls into the vague category. It is to enjoy life more.