How to stick to your New Year’s resolutions

Happy New Year! We’re all back to work after a few magical days filled with fun, family, and friends. We’re not only back to work as in our jobs, most of us are also back to work meaning work on themselves. Why? Because it’s January and we’ve just begun working on our New Year’s resolutions!

 

For many people, this work ends sometimes in March or a bit later, if they’re lucky, but most quit by autumn, that’s for sure. Studies say only 8% (!) of us actually fulfill our New Year’s resolutions. Why so few? Because we forget about them, they are too difficult to accomplish, or they lose their importance to us.

 

To improve this pretty shocking stat, we’ve done some research, because it turns out even psychologists are worried about it, so they offer advice on how to stick to your New Year’s resolutions. Here are the tips we think will work:

 

Set a manageable number of resolutions

If you write down 23 things you want to change / achieve in the New Year, it’s unlikely you’ll be successful with all of them. Find a few that are the most important to you and try to focus on them. If you can cross them off your list say in June, you can add new ones. Who says there are no mid-year resolutions?

 

Focus on one resolution at a time

And turn it into many small resolutions. Rome wasn’t built in a day and you also can’t learn a new language or improve your swimming skills overnight. Set smaller goals for each resolution as you navigate the list. Small steps will get you far and eventually will help you accomplish what you want.

 

Reward yourself for small successes

I’m not talking about treating yourself to an entire cake if you managed to lose a few pounds, but maybe have the cupcake you were longing for? I’m also not talking about buying that evening dress you were dreaming about if you managed to save a decent amount of money, but maybe a new scarf? Self control is the key!

 

Be SMART

You may have heard of SMART, a set of criteria meant to guide us in setting objectives, for instance in project management, employee-performance management, and even personal development. To comply with these criteria, your resolutions need to be:

S – specific (describe exactly what you want to achieve)

M – measurable (quantify what you want to achieve)

A – attainable (make sure what you want to achieve is actually possible for you)

R – relevant (make sure what you want to achieve is important and useful for you)

T – time-related (set a deadline for what you want to achieve)

 

Check your list regularly

Most of us fail at many of our resolutions because we forget about them. We put them down on a piece of paper, write them in our diary or even on our phones, but a few weeks later our interest for them drops and soon we forget we even made them in the first place. To avoid this, set a few minutes to look over them once in a while. You can even put it in your calendar or set a reminder for this. We’re all so forgetful in this day and age…

 

Share your resolutions with others

I know, talking about your dreams and expectations is tricky. But in this case it can work in your favor! It’s sometimes difficult to share your bold goals with another person, but if you do they will remember them and will want to keep track of your progress. Who knows, they might even want to join you. Even more reasons for you to succeed!

You don’t need to worry even if the special person with whom you’d like to share your most personal resolutions is far away from you. You can always call them and let them know how close you’re getting to reaching your goals. After all, KeepCalling.com’s resolution is to offer you trustworthy services at the lowest rates. This year and every year.