New Year’s allows us a time to reboot … it’s life’s do-over button.

Make New Year’s Resolutions Stick

It’s that time of year, the age-old tradition of making New Year’s resolutions. I personally love this tradition. To me it’s a time to look ahead and decide who I want to be in the upcoming year and what I want to accomplish. It’s also an exercise in introspection, narrowing down what defines us, our priorities and what will help us be content and happy.

We all start out strong, resolve to do this or that- lose weight, budget better, get organized- but for many of us it’s long forgotten by March.

How do we make New Year’s resolutions stick? Why do you find yourself repeating the same resolution over and over, year in, year out?

Because instead of declarations, to make big life changes, we need an action plan, guidance and most of all support!

Keep reading for a step-by-step approach for New Year’s resolution goal-setting and a free journal template you can have emailed right to you, get started, click here.

How about this year we approach our resolutions a little differently? Instead of grand resolutions, set 3-5 priorities to focus on (career? Friends? family?). Next, identify actionable goals for each category. Third, what are the steps needed to take to get there? And finally, what are some setbacks you might anticipate?

Plan your action steps

  1. Identify your priorities
  2. For each priority, define your goals. The more specific the better.
  3. Outline, step-by-step, what you need to do to reach that goal.
  4. Brainstorm a few obstacles you anticipate may derail you.
  5. What tools can you use to keep accountable?

Want to make time for meditation and mental health? Schedule time in your day, find an app like Headspace that can help you, and set reminders to make it a habit.

Want to spend more quality time with your family? Take a hard look at your schedule for 2017 and ask yourself how you can manage your work schedule to be more available to them. Maybe that means shutting down your laptop at 7 pm sharp. Or maybe consider setting an automatic email responder to let clients know you’re unavailable on the weekend. Or it means planning quarterly getaways and getting scheduling work trips in advance around those.

Or perhaps, like most of us, you’d like 2017 to be the year you get in great shape. But before you write down “I want to lose weight,” or “I’m going to get in shape,” define exactly what that means to you.

Do you have a health condition you need to tackle? Or maybe you need to focus on weight loss around your midsection. Then follow through the steps: what has been slowing you down? Crazy schedule? Or maybe you don’t feel confident about your cooking skills. Whatever the block is, find a solution – schedule non-negotiable time for your workouts in advance or subscribe to a meal service or take some cooking classes.

Above all you’ll want to hold yourself accountable in some way. I’ve always found the buddy system to be the most effective. A friend or relative that’s invested in seeing you succeed can help keep you on track and check-in periodically, help you troubleshoot ways to get past areas of resistance.

You know what’s even more effective? Hire a coach to help you get there. The most successful people are those who identify the areas they need professional help with and invest in the support they need to succeed.

It’s not too late to make this your best year ever! Download your journal template.

January is a perfect time to take inventory and start to assess what you want the rest of your year to look like. Though, honestly, this is a good exercise to try any time of year.

Give it a try – get your favorite journal out or get the free journal worksheet template sent to your inbox, click here. I’ve put together questions to help get you started and guide you through the process.