Just like a shiny new haircut, the New Year gets us into the spirit of giving life a bit of a refresh.

Not only is it about starting the next 12 months as we mean go to go on; resolutions are a good excuse to reflect on where we are, who we’ve become and where we want to go (even if we don’t always stick to them).

But what it shouldn’t be about is conjuring up a New Year New You. The idea of morphing people into supposedly more wholesome and superior characters at this time of year is unproductive, unrealistic and – let’s be honest – not very fun either.

So we asked some of our favourite British women to divulge their goals for the year ahead. We hope these witty and inspiring pledges help spark your own alternative resolutions.

Illustrations by: Sejal Kapadia Pocha

Women we admire share their alternative New Year’s resolutions for 2019