As we celebrate the beginning of a brand new year, it’s time we talked once again about resolutions!
New Year’s resolutions have almost become a running joke at the start of every year. How long will you stand by your resolutions? How many of the resolutions you made last year did you follow through on?
But even if you’ve had a hard time with your resolutions in the past, it’s still important to set them. Many resolutions you make are in touch with the life you want to build for yourself. Making resolutions with the intention of following through on them helps you build self-awareness, honesty, responsibility, and gets you inspired for the year ahead.
On that note, we’re going to share a few tips on how you can make realistic New Year’s resolutions this year.
Keep it specific and measurable
You may have heard of SMART goal setting. This stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, which are all the things you should pay attention to when you’re setting your resolutions for the year.
If you’re worried about how complex that sounds, don’t be! All this means is making your resolutions easier to swallow. For example, if your resolution is to exercise more don’t just leave it at that. Instead, phrase your resolution in terms of how you’re going to achieve it. So, without saying “I’m going to exercise more this year”, tell yourself you’re going to exercise for 1 hour twice a week. It’s that easy.
It’s not all or nothing
Now that you’ve set a goal that’s specific and measurable, stop being so hard on yourself!
If your goal is to exercise for 1 hour twice a week or to cook more and eat out less, it’s not the end of the world if you only exercise once a week, or grab dinner with friends. It’s better to make some progress than make none at all.
Taking an all-or-nothing approach isn’t realistic, and it’s more likely to discourage you than inspire you to do better. The best thing you can do for yourself is acknowledge this fact when you set your New Year’s resolutions for the year. This will help you be kinder to yourself, and also appreciate the great progress you make throughout the year.
Schedule time in
If you already juggle a packed schedule and the resolutions you’re making take time out of your day, then it’s important that you make time to work on your resolutions. Adding to a full plate of commitments only means that you’re setting yourself up for failure.
You can’t make time to fit your resolutions into your days unless you consciously set time aside. That’s why it’s important to prioritize your resolutions and block out time in your week to work on them. Avoid making appointments over them or compromising these times.
Changing your lifestyle, habits, or even your schedule isn’t always easy. Making sure you do your research beforehand can help you be more realistic about achieving your resolutions. Figure out how much time you need to dedicate to work on your resolutions, and set yourself a realistic timeline with small milestones you can tick off throughout the year.
Be flexible!
Flexibility may seem like the opposite approach you need to take when it comes to your New Year’s resolutions but hear us out.
The best way to be realistic with your resolutions is by making them achievable, setting small targets, and celebrating your wins. But this approach also means that you can build on your goals. If you’re successful with the first change you make in your life, set yourself another milestone to build on another aspect of this change. For instance, if your goal is to read one book a month and you find yourself finishing a book in two weeks, you can set yourself a goal of reading 2 books a month, and so on.
Before you know it, in 52 weeks, your lifestyle will be very different from how you started the year!
Any change is difficult, but we hope that these simple tips help you conquer all your goals and resolutions this year. What resolutions are you setting/have you set? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to share your tips on how to stick to your resolutions.
Happy New Year!