It’s that time of year when the magic of Christmas begins to fade and is replaced with the excitement of a brand-new year. If you’re someone that relishes the idea of fresh starts, you might have been pondering over New Year’s resolutions and, more to the point, how you’re going to go about sticking to them. So to keep you on track, we’ve compiled a list of resolution-making tips to steer you towards your new-year goals and stop you falling off the wagon.
Narrow it down
It’s tempting to try to save time by fitting five years’ worth of resolutions into just the one year, but making resolutions in batches could be doomed to failure. Don’t let the New Year buzz blind you to the work required in managing multiple goals. Unless all your resolutions are bite-size, it’s far better to do one or two things well than do a botch job on half a dozen.
Pick manageable goals
You shouldn’t aim for the sky if you can’t get off the ground. Your success in keeping your New Year’s resolutions will partly depend on how realistic your goals are. That means if you’re a first-time jogger, don’t use the goal of an Olympic sprinter.
Be specific
Being too vague about your New Year’s resolutions gives you the wriggle room to fail and can make it hard for you to keep track of your progress. If dieting, for example, is your goal, then ‘lose ten pounds’ is a more measurable target than just ‘lose weight’, and having something concrete in place should motivate you more too.
Plan it out
Most projects start with a plan, and personal goals, even intangible ones, shouldn’t be any different. A plan should cover the logistical basics, such as the arrangements to be made or equipment to be bought to achieve your particular goal and what you can do to increase your chances of success. It should also have a contingency section for when things go wrong (if you plan to jog round the block after work, have you thought what you’ll do in wet weather, for example?). Beginning with a blueprint for your goal also shows you have serious intent and will spur you on in the long run.
Sweeten the pill
It could be the novelty of your goal that’s motivating you at the start, and when that novelty wears off, so could your enthusiasm. So it’s important to find ways to lighten things up for when the journey turns into a slog. If exercise is on your new-year agenda, can you listen to music while doing your sit-ups? And if your aim is to eat more healthily, how about jazzing up those low-fat dishes? Try to come up with ideas that will get the job done with the minimum amount of suffering.
Take little steps
Doing too much too soon could be as destructive as not doing anything at all. If you’ve drawn up your plan carefully, you should have an idea of how much you can achieve at each stage. Trying to run before you can walk could set you back weeks.
Don’t expect instant results
Roman wasn’t built in a day, so you might as well settle in for the ride. Embarking on your journey with expectations too high could set you up for failure. Tell yourself that you’re in it for the long haul, and celebrate the mini successes along the way.
Buddy up
If you’re the type of person that needs a push when it comes to tackling tasks, then find a friend with a similar goal and take the challenge together. So long as they’re more of a sticker than a quitter, they could help you stay motivated and make the process more fun.
Revisit your reasons
The longer the timeframe you’ve given yourself, the harder it can be to keep going, and there may be times when you lose sight of the reasons you made your resolutions in the first place. As you persevere, focus on why you’re doing it, whether it’s reminding yourself of what you wanted to change or visualising the change itself. Reviewing the progress you’ve made so far or having motivational reminders around you can be useful for keeping you on target.
Be prepared to adapt
Adapting is better than quitting, so if that goal of losing ten pounds turns out to be less achievable than you thought, there’s no shame in making it nine instead. Even the best-laid plans go awry, and a spanner in the works could suddenly appear that you couldn’t have possibly foreseen. If you’ve given it your best shot, don’t see it as a failure if you couldn’t quite hit the mark. Either settle on less or dust yourself down for a rethink. I mean, hey, there’s always next year.
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