New Year, New You! As we welcome 2022, we also must welcome the challenge of sticking to our New Year’s resolutions. It’s time to set some goals and make a game plan! Did you know that most people tend to quit their resolutions after just a month? Don’t worry, we’re here to help you create, keep and reach your goals! Our team is very systems and processes oriented and our resolutions are no exception. We’ve broken down this challenge into just a few simple steps to help you stay on track this year!

STEP 1: Creating a Resolution

Before you can reach your goals, you have to identify them. Reflect on this past year and ask yourself, what can you do better in 2022? You don’t have to stick to just one goal, the new year is going to present us with endless opportunities to benefit ourselves so don’t limit yourself. Perhaps you’d like to pick up a hobby; reading, crafting, collecting, etc. A pretty common, but nonetheless important resolution is pursuing a healthier lifestyle; whether that means going to the gym, switching up your eating habits or dedicating more time to your mental health, this goal is great because you can never be too healthy!

STEP 2: The Game Plan

This is probably the most crucial step when it comes to resolutions because without a game plan, it’s much easier to lose focus and slip up throughout your way to achieving your goals. Once you’ve determined what you’re working towards, you can shift your attention to how you are going to reach your goals. Start thinking about what steps you’re going to take to fulfill your resolutions, in most cases, you can pick at least three things that you plan on doing to accomplish them. For example, if your goal is to read more books, you could join a book club, plan to go to the library on a consistent basis, start asking friends for recommendations, and/or write a list of books you would like to read. By doing this, the task at hand seems much more achievable; rather than preparing to read 50 books, you’re setting yourself up for success and creating routines with long-term progress in mind. 

STEP 3: The Timeline

One reason why so many New Years’ resolutions don’t make it through the year is that people tend to fall into the misconception that they have plenty of time to work towards their resolutions. However, that mindset will pollute your motivation and either end up making it harder on yourself later on or abandoning the goal altogether. Rather than making your timeline January-December, think of your resolution as being monthly or weekly goals. This will break your resolution down to more manageable and specific tasks, rather than just “getting in shape” aim to go to the gym four or five times a week. Not only will this help keep you on track, but it will keep your resolution top of mind and keep you accountable. By working at your goals a little bit every day, you’ll be putting yourself in a better position to reach your target. 

STEP 4: The Checkpoint

Another important step you can take to keep yourself accountable and on track is to mark down a couple of checkpoints throughout the year on your calendar. Once you arrive at each checkpoint date, reflect on how far you’ve come. Are you where you expected to be by now? How much progress have you made? What are you going to do differently moving forward? Perhaps you’ve already exceeded your expectations, that’s fantastic – it means that it’s time to update your goals and keep moving forward. This is super helpful when it comes to keeping your resolution top of mind. Rather than assuming you have all year to accomplish your goals, recognize your resolution as a gradual process, one that can’t be tackled in the month of December when you realize that you forgot what your original goals even were. Not only will this keep you accountable, but tracking your progress is very rewarding when it comes to seeing your growth throughout the year.