Well, it’s almost the New Year. Where has the time gone, honestly? It seems like the years just keep going by faster and faster. Regardless, the new year is a season of optimism and joy due to the ability to start fresh. This is when we start our New Year’s resolutions. These resolutions can be just about anything, whether it be to get healthier, read more or even get more money to save up for something. After about a month of trying, I notice that we start to give up on these goals of ours but, don’t fret! In this article, I will give out some advice on how you can accomplish your resolution(s) this year.
- Clearly define your goals
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If your goal is quantitative, you need to clearly define how much of what you want to do this year. For example, if you want to read more, how many books do you want to read this year? How many pages do you want to read a day? Another example: if you want to lose weight, how much? How do you plan on exercising and dieting to get to your goal? For goals like these, it is kind of hard to go with the flow because if you do that, you will not be able to track your progress. Clearly defining how much of what you’re going to do is a step that is hard, but it’s necessary. It will help you keep yourself accountable for what you are doing and you can see how much progress you are making.
- Set time aside
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When you want to accomplish something, you need to be committed to what you’re doing. This means you need to set aside how much time you want to prioritize this goal. It could be 30 minutes a day, a few hours a week or whatever you think is best. You know yourself and your schedule better than anyone. Don’t try to overwork yourself if you know you can’t commit all the time in the world for this. Do as much as what you believe you’ll be able to do. Remember, this is your resolution, not anyone else’s.
- Keep track of your resolution
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Sometimes a really easy way to get overwhelmed with the new year is if you’re not really recording how much progress you are making. I suggest getting a planner or a notebook to write down your daily or weekly notes on how things are going. There are also many phone apps such as Habit or Done that can help you keep track digitally of how you are accomplishing your goals. It keeps you accountable so that you will not give up. It may seem daunting at first, but writing down what you’re doing will feel even better in the future when you get to see the progress you are making since when you started.
- Remember that progress does not happen overnight
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It’s so effortless to get caught up in a negative mindset when the progress you want isn’t coming as soon as you want it. That’s okay, you have to be patient. Good things come to those who wait. If you keep working at what you want, eventually you will see how much you have improved. It’s not going to happen immediately. Don’t lose hope, you will get to where you want to be eventually. It’ll be okay.
- Prioritize your mental health first
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Some days, things happen. It’s inevitable. You may have a bad night of sleep, you may feel down because you didn’t do so great on a test or you may just be feeling exhausted. It happens to everyone. If you would rather rest and take care of yourself, that’s perfectly okay. No one will punish you because you skipped a day. At the end of the day, your mental health is the most important. It is what will keep you going. If you need to take a break so you can feel okay again, no one will blame you. You have to take care of yourself.
- Reward yourself
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When you’re making the progress you want or are feeling really good about committing to your goal, there’s no shame in treating yourself! Get yourself a new pair of shoes or buy something that you’ve wanted for a while. Getting yourself a reward is a fun way to congratulate yourself and to keep your morale up.
The New Year’s Resolution Talk can be scary, but if you want to achieve your goals, I suggest you follow some of my tips. Setting and following through with it will not be easy, but what is good never comes easy. As 2019 winds down and 2020 starts up, I hope you are able to define the goals you want and start making progress. Best of luck to you during this new year! Remember to not lose hope. I believe in you and you should believe in yourself as well.