Millions of people fail to fulfil their new year's resolutions because of a faulty approach, suggests a new study.

Prof. Richard Wiseman at England's University of Hertfordshire conducted a study of 700 people who aimed to achieve several resolutions, such as losing weight, quitting smoking and improving their job qualifications.

He found that only 22 per cent were successful. Those who used commonly recommended approaches such as focusing on the negative implications of not succeeding, removing temptation, having a role model and visualizing about being successful, tended to be unsuccessful.

"Many of these ideas are frequently recommended by self-help experts, but our results suggest that they simply don't work," Wiseman said in a release.

Conversely, people who attained their goals thought small, rather than big, dividing up the steps to achieving their goals into small manageable chunks.

They also rewarded themselves when they experienced progress, mentioned their goals to their friends, frequently thought about the benefits of attaining their goals and tracked their progress.

Stick to 1 resolution

"Many of the most successful techniques involve making a plan and helping yourself stick to it," said Wiseman.

To ensure new year's resolutions are met, he suggests:

• Make only one resolution, to ensure you channel your energy into attaining that goal.
• Make resolutions well in advance of the new year to gather your focus.
• Avoid previous resolutions, to prevent another failure.
• Skip the usual resolutions and choose one that's unique to your circumstances.
• Share your goals with friends and family to receive their support.
• Give yourself small rewards as you see results during the process.
• Track your progress through a journal, spreadsheet or via a notice board.
• Don't give up after a temporary setback. Expect small failures from time to time and accept them.