We asked over 1,000 Americans how long is reasonable to keep a New Year's resolution, and expectations are low

Still, a majority of Americans — 86% — say it's best to keep chipping away at your New Year's goals.

To maintain new behaviors, psychology professor Wendy Wood at the University of Southern California says you should put them into practice in routine, easy-to-follow ways. In other words, if you make a New Year's resolution a habit or daily reflex, it's more likely to stick.

But by the end of March, 35% of respondents think it's fine if your resolutions have gone by the wayside.

Brain scientist Ann Graybiel from MIT argues that habits can form outside of our awareness, and take a long time to develop into something that's second nature.

Behavior expert Kathleen Vohs from the University of Minnesota knows better. Her studies suggest that resolutions work best when we keep things simple and stick to a routine.

The more decisions we have to make, and the more options we have to choose from, the harder it becomes to maintain self-control. This is why, for example, many people choose to exercise in the morning before the day fills up with chores and possibilities.

For those who are still trying to stick to resolutions after six months, it's helpful to remember that goals we see as fun and easy to accomplish work much better than scare tactics based on fear and regret.

By this point, nearly 200 days into the year, it's possible your so-called "resolution" is the new normal.

Replacing an old behavior with a new one can be an effective way to enact change.

Want to drink less? Fill your cup with something else. It's much easier than swapping a beverage for an empty hand.

Bargh says we have to be consistent with our resolutions in order for them to work.

"You've gotta do it every time," he said, otherwise, "your body and mind are not going to take you seriously."

Our body will end up doing whatever it did yesterday, by default.

"It's a relationship like any other, and you have to establish trust," Bargh said.

At this point in the year, pretty much everyone who thinks it's best to stick with a resolution is likely in it for the long haul.

"Things get more efficient and require less of your conscious mind over time," Bargh said.

But remember, psychologists point out that the best New Year's resolutions are the ones that don't rely on what others think.

"I would only do them if you really, really want to change," Bargh said.

It's almost time to craft a new one, anyway. Then again, it might be worth skipping a resolution this year and just giving yourself a pat on the back.

After all, truly "long-lasting change is most likely when it's self-motivated and rooted in positive thinking," as researchers at Harvard Medical School have discovered.

SurveyMonkey Audience polls from a national sample balanced by census data of age and gender. Respondents are incentivized to complete surveys through charitable contributions. Generally speaking, digital polling tends to skew toward people with access to the internet. SurveyMonkey Audience doesn't try to weight its sample based on race or income. Total 1,037 respondents, margin of error plus or minus +/- 3.15 percentage points with 95% confidence level.