How to Make New Year’s Resolutions and Succeed
A journalist posed a list of questions related to making and keeping new year’s resolutions. Even though in last week’s post I addressed the topic of making and accomplishing goals, I thought I’d offer additional recommendations by sharing my answers to the journalist’s questions here:
Q1 – Please explain why it’s a good idea to set one or more New Year’s resolutions.
Setting a goal is important so that you have a bullseye to work toward. If you don’t identify anything specific, there’s no finish line to aim for. It’s a good idea to stick to just one goal, though. If you have more than one, you risk spreading your brain power, resources, time and energy too thin.
Q2 – Who are good candidates for setting New Year’s resolutions?
Anyone who wants to: put an end to something they don’t like, get or stay healthy, live their best life, and/or continue to grow as a human being.
Q3 – How do you recommend folks best think about and choose/set New Year’s resolutions?
You can start with affirmation and positive reinforcement: What are you already doing well or what did you do in the past year that positively impacted your life? Would you like to make a resolution to continue to do that thing? You could also take an inventory of what you wish was different. Were there situations, habits, emotions or experiences you had in the past six months where you thought, “I don’t like this,” or “I don’t want to go through this again”? Maybe you realized that your doctor was serious when she said, “You need to lose weight.” Or maybe it stung when your child quipped, “You’re missing my game again?” Jot down your top three stingers and select one from there.
Q4 – Is it best to decide on a New Year’s resolution by January 1 or can you start later?
I believe that if you’ve identified a part of your life that you want to improve, there’s no time like the present to get started. Might you have to wait until January 2 because the resource you need comes from a store that is closed on January 1? Sure. No problem. Or, what if you don’t read this until January 2 or 10 or June 3? Again, no problem. If you’re thinking, “Ugh, my schedule is packed. It’s better if I wait two weeks to start,” it’s time to get real with yourself. When is your schedule not packed? Starting on your resolution doesn’t mean you have to do everything at once. Completing a small piece daily for even just five minutes per day is a success. You might spend five minutes per day during the first week just doing some quick online research about what your New Year’s resolution entails and looking at your calendar to schedule time to take those steps. If you don’t have the time to immediately go all in, give yourself permission to kick it off with small steps. Start your journey of betterment when you identify what it is you’d like to change.
For specific steps you can take to accomplish your New Year’s resolutions, browse my recommendations here.
For more tips on how to create time to set and achieve your New Year’s resolutions, take a peek at The Inefficiency Assassin: Time Management Tactics for Working Smarter, Not Longer.
