Writing New Year’s Resolutions That Work
For those who know me, I am always setting goals big and small then diligently trying to follow through to completion. I annoyingly write a daily “to-do” list with the idea I would move the flag toward my 1-year, 3-year, and 10-year goals. But the typical New Year’s Resolutions’ maker, according to the data, fails by the second weekend in January. In 2023 that would be January 14th. Now that we are entering 2024, how can we avoid the pitfalls of losing focus on what is really important to us to achieve?
When setting goals, it is very important to have a concrete metric so it is clear when it is achieved. A general goal of attaining physical fitness does not have a benchmark to show the end in mind. It would be clear if the goal were to walk, run or hike 20 miles a week. Mark Zuckerberg had a run one-mile-a-day goal, which he obtained five months early. He said he was having so much fun he just kept running. If exercise is not a priority, it might be reading a certain number of books. I had the audacity to think I could read 100 books in a year back in 2023. I love to read, but that was a little over the top especially when books such as Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss were in the mix with over 600 pages of intrigue. Needless to say, I failed with the number but read 74 books more than I did the year before. If writing is a priority, keeping a word number goal for an article, a blog or even a book might be the measurement. Whatever the goal for 2024, the S.M.A.R.T goal format (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) would be a good way to formulate it.
Even if the written goal is concrete and measurable, it will not be successful unless you understand the “why.” What makes it important to you? If running a mile a day is the goal, what is the purpose? Is it to lose weight? Is it to feel better? Or is it because you want to wear that dress to your high school reunion that is currently too tight? If writing 1000 words a day is the goal, is the “why” to complete the book you have been working on for 3 years? Or is it to write your autobiography to pass down to your kids and grandkids? As you can see, the why is the driving force to keep you going toward success.
When all the goals are written down and the why is determined, the next step is to organize them by highest priority. What is the most important thing you want to achieve this year? This exercise can be a challenge. By simply writing them on index cards so you can manipulate the order, you can start the ranking process. Move them around until you finalize the sequence. One to five high priorities are plenty to focus on in a year but keep the remaining ones in your deck to come back to when the others are completed or schedule them for the future.
When our family does our annual goal setting, we look at 1-year, 3-year, and 10-year goals. Initially, our twenty-something sons were challenged when thinking about the long term. If you are twenty-two and realize in 10 years you will be thirty-two, it will give you pause. To picture that far into the future can be hazy at first, but we encouraged them to paint their picture as much as possible right now leaving some of the details to be completed as time brings things into focus.
To add clarity to the 1-year goal, we break the individual goal into what is called rocks. Think of smashing the goal into manageable pieces on what to accomplish within the next 30, 60, or 90 days. Using the example of running 365 miles this year, break it down to how many miles a week. If the rocks seem to be too enormous to achieve, start with breaking the rocks further down into what I like to call pebbles. If you have never run before, start with running and walking. Run to the stop sign down the block, then walk to the next stop sign and then repeat. You will build up your endurance and as Mark Zuckerberg said, you might even have fun. If pebbles are too much, do not hesitate to start with grains of sand. Doing one sit-up a day, one journal entry, or one short walk around the block. Any movement forward is a step in the right direction.
My daily pebbles (to dos) start with every activity I need to accomplish that day no matter how big or small. Work out, Zoom call, mail package, mail New Years cards, throw out Christmas poinsettias and even make my bed are some of the things on today’s list. Although making your bed might not seem like an item to write down, it is a constant reminder from William McRaven’s commencement speech, “If you want to change the world, start by making your bed.” He said if you start your day with a task completed, it will lead to bigger tasks being completed. So everyday, I start with making my bed so I know I will continue to accomplish the rest of my “to dos.” Do you have New Years Resolutions? How do you plan on achieving them?
