Making a New Year Resolution and Sticking to It
Productivity

Making a New Year Resolution and Sticking to It

|Dec 25, 2020
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If you're like most people, you've probably had trouble sticking to new year resolutions in the past. It's very common for people to make them at the end of each year in all their enthusiasm, only to abandon the objectives later. It's not even something that they do on purpose, but the excitement and desire seem to fade away as time passes on.

Note that there are exceptions to the rule, as some people manage to carry out their goals for the new year effectively. What can you do to put yourself in that boat too? Try using the tips for new year's resolution success below, and it should make a world of difference for you this year around.  

Define New Year Goals

Define new year goals

The first step to successfully keep your new year's resolutions is to establish the goals that you want to achieve. You might be thinking that this is what you do every year, but there is a difference.

Most persons use ambiguous statements to tell themselves what they want to do for the new year. Making a new year's resolution must be a little more rigid than that to work effectively. This is a basic strategy that even businesses use to ensure that they meet their corporate objectives annually. 

The more specific a goal is, the more likely you are to achieve it. So, rather than choosing to say something, such as "I'm going to save more money this year," try using a statement, such as, "I'm going to save an extra $500 each month."  

The idea behind this is that the specificity allows you to be more calculated about it. It's kind of like wanting to create a plan to improve your remote productivity. Knowing that you wish to be more productive is great, but it doesn't give you a specific view of what you need to work on. Maybe, your struggle lies with time management, and so you can pinpoint that weakness. Doing so allows you to make a change, such as implementing the Pomodoro technique, to force yourself to use your time more effectively. 

How to Stick to New Year Goals? 

1. Keep a Healthy Mind and Body

Keep healthy mind and body

If you are in a better state of health, it stands to reason that you are going to be able to think through and achieve your goals in a much more commanding manner. That's why one of the best ways to stick with your new year's resolutions is to get both your mind and body in the healthiest state possible. 

Mental health is just as important as physical health, and one without the other is not necessarily a win. What can you do to ensure that your mind and body are healthy enough to propel you to achieving your goals?

Consider where you spend the most time. This is in the workspace for most persons, and by making ergonomic adjustments, you can become healthier both physically and mentally. 

Make using sit-stand sessions with a standing desk and ergonomic chair combination part of your routine. Doing so allows you to mitigate chronic conditions, increase mental alertness, burn more calories as you work, increase your comfort, etc. 

2. Keep Your Goal Numbers in Check

No one is limiting you to a single new year's resolution. Nevertheless, how do you think you are going to do if you overwhelm yourself with changes to make and goals to achieve? Believing in and pushing yourself to do better is never bad, but you should also bear the concept of moderation in mind.  

One reason that some people eventually give up on their new year's resolutions is that they tend to overwhelm themselves. It turns out that if you burden your mind with a long list of goals to achieve, the intimidation and the pressure of getting it all done can be very discouraging.

Set a manageable number of resolutions, and allow yourself to get through them. Alternatively, you can do multiple sets of resolutions to be completed at different points in the year.  

3. Please Don't Wait Too Long to Set Resolutions or Rush

Don't rush

If you're making a new year resolution, it should never be something that you do on the fly. The whole concept is designed to revolve around things that you've given a satisfactory amount of thought towards. Never create one because everyone else is doing it or because time is running out. Reasons such as those, are not going to provide the necessary motivation to propel you to get the job done. 

Use the entire month of December to contemplate what you need to get done. Ensure that you feel strongly about each resolution and that you can visualize the feeling of joy that you expect from getting through it. 

If you are going to be setting them at the last minute, it would be best not to bother. 

4. Designate an Accountability Partner

Accountability partners

Accountability partners help in keeping you grounded and motivated if you wonder how to stick to new year resolutions. You should preferably choose someone who also has goals to achieve in the same form. The idea is to hold each other to the standards that have been set.

Apart from the accountability factor, there is almost an immediate sense of competition created. Naturally, that's the kind of competition that you don't want to lose. Do you want to be the one who didn't achieve the goal?  

5. Track Your Progress

Track process

It's important to note that this is an impossible task to pull off if you don't have specific and measurable goals. That's one of the problems with ambiguous resolutions. Not only is it hard to conceptualize where they end, but you also cannot get a feel for how far you have come. 

Sometimes, the only thing that is going to convince you to keep pressing forward with your goals for the new year is the progress that you have already made. That cannot apply if you have no way of seeing that progress. Put metrics in place to evaluate how far you have come. Establish intervals that you can then use to check up on yourself periodically. 

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