How to Actually Keep Your New Year’s Resolution(s)
Everyone knows the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions - and the tradition of giving up on them by February. Wouldn’t it be nice to make a resolution and know that, next December, you’ll be able to look back on how much progress you’ve made? Well, brighten your spirits - because you can.
- Don’t allow yourself to ignore it. The quickest and easiest way to ensure failure is to allow your resolution to become an afterthought, lost in the jungle of everyday stress. Find a way to include your resolution in a daily routine or schedule. Common goals such as weight loss are easy - exercise for one hour every morning at 7:00, for example. For other, more abstract goals, you may need to set aside some time to plan or think about them. Use post-it notes liberally; put them in places where you’ll see them if you feel the urge to waste time (on your TV’s remote control, for example).
You could even make a poster to place near your bed, so you can’t help but see it as soon as you wake up. - Be held accountable. If you’re reporting your successes (and lack thereof) to someone else, you’re more motivated to do your best.
- Start a blog. Openly writing about your goals to the entire world is a great way to keep yourself in check. (You can read more about my goals for 2007 in The Resolution.) Any failures will be broadcast to millions of people… or at least a few dozen.
One caveat, though: You absolutely must be open and honest. Lying in a blog is essentially like lying to yourself and having everyone else read your mind. - Find a partner - or even a full group. It’s easiest to work through the ups and downs of working for something for twelve months when someone else is right beside you doing the same thing.
- Don’t make resolutions. Instead, set an area of focus. For example, along with my “20 hours” resolution, I’ve chosen to focus on a few specific areas:
- Finances. Yes, “college student” is usually synonymous with “poor”, but I’d like to acheive financial independence (as much as possible) from my parents by the end of the year.
- Physical fitness. Exercise has been proven to be a key factor in improving mental fitness and energy levels as well as strengthening the body. Over the years, I’ve been a bit too lazy/busy to work on this area.
- Relationships. I’m not in one, so let’s find that (un)lucky woman, shall we? (No personal ads, please.)
Other areas you could focus on include your family, friendships, career, spirituality… anytime you’ve said, “I wish I could do __________ better,” there’s probably an area for it. By focusing on an area instead of a specific goal, you allow yourself the flexibility to change those goals.
- Don’t expect immediate perfection. This should be fairly obvious, but major life changes don’t (usually) happen overnight. This is where the tips on accountability will come in handy; oftentimes, you’ll need some extra motivation to get over a “plateau” in your growth. If you ever feel like giving up exercise to watch TV, just look at that post-it on the remote.
Happy New Year!
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