New Year, new you. Turn the page. Start fresh. Turn over a new leaf. Clean slate. There are many ways to say it, but the idea is the same… New Year’s Resolutions.
As the calendar turns from December 31st to January 1st, we are all given the opportunity to improve our lot in life and establish goals for the new year.
New Year’s Day has become a line of demarcation. Diets start, workouts ramp up and people decide to make changes for the better.
The end of the holidays means coming off a two or three week period of excess, non-stop hustle, parties, travel, spending, poor eating and general exhaustion.
In reality, it’s closer to a two month period, going all the way back to Halloween for most people. I mean, come on, who are we kidding?
Family Resolutions
For families, the start of the year is an even better chance to make changes. This is a perfect chance to take stock of where your family is and what you want to improve.
Maybe it’s eating better. I mean, we did just come off months of candy, deserts, eating out, big meals, and catching a quick bite in between all the running around.
Perhaps you want to get your finances back in shape. Overspending is easy to do during holiday festivities. Dealing with the financial hangover in the new year can leave you scrambling.
It could be that you want your family to spend more time together. With all the gift giving comes new phones, new video games and new toys to play with. It’s easy for everyone to go their own way.
Whatever the driving force behind you and your family improving some aspect of your life, this is your chance to do it.
The problem is, where to start and how to keep it going.
Resolutions often kick in on January 1. They just as often fall apart by January 2.
There are many reasons behind their failure: targets that are too vague, no specific goal, too unrealistic, have no way to track progress, or are out of your control. If you establish your resolutions with these pitfalls in mind, you will greatly increase the chances of sticking with them.
Less Vague is More Actionable
“Be a better person” is an admirable resolution. But what, exactly, does it mean to be better? The broad nature of this goal allows you to rationalize anything and still let you say you stuck to your resolution. But does it really help you to be better? By the way, how do you track “being better”.
Make your goals more targeted. Ideally, the resolution addresses a specific area you want to see improve for yourself or your family.
If you think your kids need life perspective (like mine), how about “Volunteer more”. If your house is in constant disarray (like mine), try “implement a chore process”. If your kids’ financial acumen is a mess (like mine), then “provide allowance and teach the kids about money” might be a good goal.
You get the idea. Vague is bad. Targeted, more detailed is good.
Set Specific Goals
“Save more money” is always one of the more popular resolutions. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the hardest to keep because it is too general. What does “more” mean? More than you saved last year? More than you thought you could save?
Whatever your chosen area – saving money, working out more – setting a quantifiable goal will make it easier to stick to.
If “Save more money” is your resolution, try making it “Save enough to pay for a summer vacation without using credit cards.” This is specific and quantifiable.
If “work out more” is your goal, make it “Work out X times per week” or “Work out X times per month”.
Giving yourself a concrete target will help you envision your goal.
Avoid Unrealistic Goals
People often have the best of intentions with resolutions, but the goals are set so high that they are virtually impossible to meet. This leads to a feeling of “why bother”, and the resolution ultimately falls apart.
“Save 50% of my income” probably isn’t realistic. Unless you are a teenager living at home and have no bills.
“Volunteer 5 times each month” is an awesome goal. But, if you are a family with kids in sports or other activities, finding the time to volunteer that much is virtually impossible.
Try dialing the expectations back just a bit. In a perfect world, the goal should be a stretch so that it is a challenge, but not so far out of reach that it becomes unattainable.
Let’s say you want to lose weight. If, for example, you weigh 200 pounds, resolving to “lose 50 pounds” by summer sounds daunting, and may not be healthy. If you don’t see results as quickly as you would like, you may give up or try fad diets that may be unhealthy.
On the other hand, setting a goal of “Lose 5 pounds per month through June” gets you to nearly the same place (ok, it would be 30 pounds lost, but still… not bad). At the same time, it feels more realistic, and sets your mental expectations to an achievable level. If you don’t see immediate results in the first week or two, you can course correct and still reach your goal.
Keep Track to Stay on Track
If you can track it, it will keep you on track. If you have no idea how close you are to your goals, how can you tell when you have reached them? It’s tough to track your progress toward a goal of “Be a Better Person”. As already mentioned, it’s too vague and too nebulous. Really, how can you track how good of a person you are?
Your goals should be quantifiable so you can track your progress. There are many online tools to help you track weight loss, savings and spending habits, time spent at gyms or volunteering, etc. Your watch can probably even track caloric intake and the number of steps you’ve taken each day. How easy is that?
If you want to kick it old school, then use a spreadsheet or calendar tool to keep track of what you did, when you did it and how it relates to your goal. Or go medieval and get a poster board to track your progress. Just having something visually to remind you of your goals and how you are trending will help you stay on point.
For those truly adventurous and/or uninhibited, try posting your goal and tracking somewhere in your house or online for all to see. Nothing keeps you motivated more than a very visual and public reminder of how you are (or are not) reaching your goals.
Stay In Control
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, always remember to have a resolution that is within your control.
What good does it do you to have a resolution that you cannot impact?
“Get a promotion at work” is definitely an admirable goal and well worth working toward. It’s also likely to be out of your control and can be derailed by factors having nothing to do with your actual work performance.
Alternatively, set resolutions that highlight your skills, improve your skill set or get you noticed. How about “Take one training course at work each month” or “Offer to take on one project outside my comfort zone each quarter”. In this way, your effort, expanded skill set and initiative may well get you noticed and ultimately result in that promotion.
No matter your desired final outcome, if you cannot control factors along the way, you could become disheartened and fall off track. Come up with goals that will move you toward your desired outcome, but that you can directly impact.
Everyone starts off the year with the best of intentions. It is particularly hard for families to stick to resolutions, as any parent can attest. However, with a little thought, some organization and planning, you can do it!
If not, there’s always next year.
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