Life Hacks Backed by Research to Start Your 2026 Happier, More Focused and Less Anxious

The start of a new calendar brings new year's resolutions and self-help pledges to get on track.

While resolutions can be tough to keep, life hacks can help you stay on track and be more efficient, less stressed and healthier as you start 2026.

We compiled a list of life hacks driven by our faculty's research and expertise to start your new year on the right foot, from managing negative thoughts to personal finances and relationships.

Lend a Hand: How Helping Others Boosts Happiness

The key to a happier 2026 may lie in helping others.

Donating money, volunteering and everyday acts of kindness can have long-term benefits, according to Abigail Marsh, a psychology professor who studies altruism.

"We experience vicarious pleasure from helping - literally a little echo, or simulation, of the happiness we see in others," she said. "It gives us a sense of pride in having done something we know to be worthwhile. And most importantly, it strengthens our social relationships and sense of connectedness to other people, which is essential for real happiness."

If you're unsure of how to start, try finding an altruistic activity you enjoy doing, just as you would in exercising, Marsh says.

"The best kind of exercise is the kind you like doing, so you do it more. Do whatever kind of helping you like doing, and then you will do it more!"

How to start: Find a way to help others that you enjoy doing.

Mind Your Money: Financial Mindfulness Reduces Stress

Rising costs, job opportunities and saving are worries many Americans share. Research from Simon Blanchard, a Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor and Dean's Professor in the McDonough School of Business, shows how practicing financial mindfulnesscan be one step toward more positive financial outcomes and psychological well-being.

Financial mindfulness means practicing financial awareness and acceptance, or having a clear understanding of your financial situation while accepting it without judgment.

People who practice financial mindfulness are less likely to ignore their finances or succumb to the sunk cost fallacy, or continuing poor investments just because they're heavily invested already, Blanchard said. His research shows that individuals who are more financially mindful also have higher credit scores.

To get started, Blanchard recommends creating monthly habits that build financial awareness while minimizing daily anxiety about your finances.

"A good practice for that is to create rituals so you can enjoy that," Blanchard said. "For example, make the first Sunday a budget review day where you go to Starbucks, take your laptop and consolidate all your accounts in one place. Treat yourself to a drink so that it becomes a ritual that is also pleasurable."

How to start: Create a monthly money habit you enjoy.

Put Down Your Phone: Digital Detoxes Improve Your Focus

Looking to reduce your screen time in 2026?

Research from Kostadin Kushlev, associate professor of psychology in the College of Arts & Sciences, showed that digital detoxes can offer substantial benefits. In a study where participants cut off internet access, people reported experiencing more positive emotions while reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Digital detoxes were also linked to significant improvements in sustaining attention spans.

While it might be unrealistic to sever your internet completely, Kushlev's research shows that even partial digital detoxes can offer similar benefits.

"Even though it seems insurmountable, just a little bit of digital detox - a little bit of reduction of the constant stimulation from our phones, social media, games and so forth - could actually help us reclaim our ingrained ability to sustain attention," Kushlev said.

To start, Kushlev recommends identifying specific habits you can target, such as scrolling on your phone as soon as you wake up or have a lull in your workday. He also recommends trying practices like charging your phone outside of the bedroom or setting timers for certain apps to see what might be effective for you.

How to start: Identify phone habits you want to stop.

Neutralize Negative Thoughts With These Mental Techniques

It can be easy to let negative thoughts take over your brain when life gets difficult in the new year.

While some therapists recommend pushing back against these thoughts, Andrea Bonior, a teaching professor of psychology in the College of Arts & Sciences and a licensed clinical psychologist, offers alternative solutions to stay positive.

Eating fewer processed foods and getting adequate sleep are important first steps to keep negative thoughts at bay.

But when those anxious thoughts do creep up, Bonior said there are many techniques to manage negative thoughts. You just have to find one that works for you. One example she offers her patients is to think of their thoughts as metaphors.

"Maybe you're watching a parade, and your thoughts are the parade floats going by," she said. "Some parade floats are great. Some are loud. Some are smelly. You're going to sit and do a meditation where your thoughts are on a parade, and you let them pass."

How to start: Eat well, get enough sleep and find a mental practice that works for you.

Embrace Slow Productivity to Do Better Work

The new year can bring new challenges and responsibilities that require your focus. But it can be easy to distract yourself with social media updates, news hits and endless phone notifications.

To evade these distractions, Cal Newport, associate professor of computer science in the College of Arts & Sciences, suggests blocking off time to work without any "quick checks," or glances at other sources of information that can easily divide your attention.

"The key to avoiding this poison, therefore, is to keep your focus unwavering when working on something hard," Newport said. "When studying, writing or trying to come up with a new idea, insist on a rule that allows no quick checks during that period. You'll produce better quality work, you'll produce it faster, and you'll do so with less mental fatigue."

For busy people like college students, Newport recommends focusing on the tasks and activities that matter and doing them well.

"Pare down your schedule until you have more than enough time to tackle what's on your plate," he said. "Do these things well. Enjoy the rest of your time."

How to start: Prioritize your schedule and focus on what matters the most to you.

Be Curious to Strengthen Relationships

Difficult and polarizing conversations aren't going away in the new year.

Practicing civil discourse can be an important part of developing healthy relationships with your family, friends, coworkers and other members in your community, even when you might not always see eye to eye.

For Marissa Fond, an applied sociolinguist and assistant teaching professor in the College of Arts & Sciences, the first step is to be curiousand enter a conversation without trying to prove the other person wrong.

"We might believe that showing that curiosity means that we're betraying our own beliefs," Fond said. "But curiosity is crucial because it signals that we're willing to see someone as a thoughtful person whose opinion we're ready to contemplate."

When in conversation, Fond recommends practicing what linguists call backchanneling. These social cues, such as head nods, verbal acknowledgements and moving your eyebrows up and down, can suggest to your conversation partner that you are listening and understanding what they are saying.

How to start: Start a conversation by giving the other person the benefit of the doubt.