How long until your New Year resolve crumbles?

YOU'LL be doing well if, four days into January, your New Year resolutions are intact. These short-lived promises to turn our lives around often don't make it to the end of the first week.

YOU'LL be doing well if, four days into January, your New Year resolutions are intact. These short-lived promises to turn our lives around often don't make it to the end of the first week.

Perhaps you've promised it's time to lose weight and get in shape - hardly surprising given you've probably spent the past two weeks having chocolate for breakfast and munching on turkey.

Maybe you've decided 2008 is the year you finally stub out the smoking habit?

Or you just might have decided to relax more and enjoy life.

Whatever your New Year resolution, sticking to your promise is usually harder than you think.

If you're short of willpower, however, help could be at hand.

A team of psychologists have devised a failsafe way to ensure you stick to your resolutions.

The most important factor, they claim, is to make the resolutions well before January 1. That way you'll be less inclined to make snap decisions which you later regret.

If you didn't, and you made a list of promises to yourself after waking with a Hogmanay hangover, there's still plenty you can do to achieve your goals.

For men, the secret is to set specific goals and concentrate on the rewards. For example, focus on how much more attractive you'll be if you shed a few pounds.

For women, it works best if you announce to the whole world what your resolution is. That way, you'll be less likely to give up.

And if things don't go to plan, don't worry. Treat it as a small setback, and get back on track.

The research, published by the University of Hertfordshire, claims the most common resolutions are: to enjoy life more, improve fitness, lose weight, be more organised, cut down on drinking and stop smoking.

So did you make any New Year resolutions, and have you stuck to them?

We took to the streets of Glasgow to find out.

It's time for turning over a new leaf, but what are your chances?
JACQUI McHUGH, 44, housewife, Bearsden: I never like to make resolutions as I don't stick to them.	JOE LENNON, retired, city centre: I never made any resolutions this year and never really make them as they are never kept.	SHARON ROULSTON, 28, belly dance teacher, Glasgow: My resolution was to try and not lie in but I broke it on the first day.	CLAIRE GALT, 26, retail, Kilmarnock: My resolution is to try and stop drinking but I think that it will probably only last until this Saturday!