How to Keep Your New Year Resolutions

It’s that time of year again! The festive season has come and gone we’re quickly into the new year. I personally love the energy a new year brings. We look back at the past year to all the things we wanted to accomplish and didn’t, and think to ourselves “here’s my chance for a fresh start!” I am one to start thinking about my resolutions for the new year in early December and am eager to start working on them. But I know not everyone is like me.

I recently asked on my Instagram if anyone was working on their new year resolutions and a ton of people commented that they just did not do new year resolutions. Most of them said it just has never worked for them in the past. I’m sure you can relate too.

This is definitely not surprising considering studies have shown that thirty-five percent of people who make New Year’s resolutions break them by the end of January. And only 23 percent of people who make a resolution will see it through to completion. I’ve even seen that number as low as 8 percent! Not very encouraging I know, but this doesn’t have to be you!

Here are some manageable tips for how to keep your new year resolutions. (For real this time.)

 

1. Narrow down your resolutions to only 3

The new year comes around everyone is like “new year, new me” wants to change everything about their life. Soon after we create this long list of resolutions including but not limited to:

lose weight, start exercising, save more money, make more money, get out of debt, read more books, quit smoking, quit drinking, learn a new skill, go back to school, watch less tv,  travel, volunteer, meditate, meet new people, find love and the list goes on and on

This only results in setting too many goals and too many expectations. Eventually, you’ll become overwhelmed because trying to do everything at once is basically unrealistic. That’s when all those resolutions go out the window. Don’t be that person! I suggest not working on more than 3 new year resolutions. It’s always good to pick one for each area of your life. For example, one for health, one career, one for fun.  

The more laser focus you can be in specific areas of your life, the better chance you’ll have in sticking to your new year resolutions and actually being able to achieve them. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying ‘jack of all trades, master of nothing.’ By narrowing down your new year resolutions to 3, you’ll have more time and energy to clearly focus on them.

2. Make it specific and break it down

Let’s say one of your resolutions is to lose weight. That’s awesome! You’re definitely not alone because it’s one of mine too! And not to a downer, but that resolution is pretty general and very vague. How exactly are you going to get there? You might say “well, I’ll start exercising and eating healthier.” Still so general!

An example of making it specific and breaking it down is saying “I’m going to lose 10 pounds by March 31 by committing to working out 4 days a week, meal prepping Sundays for the work week and giving up soda.

Let’s say you want to travel more. What does traveling more mean to you? How many places will you travel to? How much money will you need to set aside for these trips? You’ll want to start thinking about the specific things you’ll need to do in order to make your new year resolutions happen.

The key here is to write out the specifics on a piece of paper or journal and below it write 5-10 action steps that will actually move you towards that goal.  This will help your resolution be much clearer and give you a roadmap on how to get there. The more specific your resolution is, the better you can track your progress along the way. More on this below.

3. Remember your “Why”

It’s inevitable that eventually you will start to lose motivation. And this is when your “why” will become a huge factor. Why do you want to do this particular thing in the first place? You’ll need to remember and think about this reason often. Knowing the reason why you want to achieve this goal will be the fuel you need to keep going in those moments when you want to give up.

A good piece of advice that I have read a few times is to always attach an emotional component to your why. How will achieving this goal make you feel? How will you feel when you lose those 15 pounds. How will you feel when you make that last credit card payment? I bet pretty damn good! It is a lot harder to give up on your new year resolutions when you are emotionally connected to your why.

4. Use apps that will help you keep things in check

In today’s world, for everything you need, there’s an app for it. Apps more than ever are helping us manage our lives and there are several that can help you stick with your new year resolutions. Here are a few to get you started:

Habitify simplifies the process of forming a new habit by dividing up your steps into different parts of the day, different days of the week, and so on.

Download on iTunes | Download on Google Play

Evernote is a productivity app that organizes all your to-do lists. The best thing about Evernote is that you can choose to use it in any way that works for you.

Download on iTunes | Download on Google Play

MyFitnessPal will help you keep track of your health wherever you go. Not only will it help you keep track of your calories and exercise, but you can use it to scan items you are about to buy at the supermarket to get additional nutritional information.

Download on iTunes | Download on Google Play

5. Track your progress

Many people lose motivation if they don’t see results quickly. It’s totally understandable too – you put in the time but just don’t see a difference right away This is why it’s important to track your progress. Every productivity expert and scientific study has one common piece of advice about meeting your goals, which is to track every step of the journey.

It’s always good to try to track and set benchmarks throughout the year for your goals. By doing so, you can keep yourself on track throughout the year and use the motivation it gives you to keep your momentum going. You can also give yourself a reward to celebrate small wins in your progress.

So there you have it! I hope these tips will help you stick to your resolutions long after you make them. Let me know down in the comments what are your resolutions for this year. I’d love to hear them!

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Suggested Reading: Do you need inspiration for your next trip? Be sure to check out my other posts Top 5 Things to Do in Mykonos Greece,  The Ultimate Miami Travel Guide and Why Need to Visit Hong Island in Thailand.

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