If you’ve been struggling with keeping up with your New Year resolutions, here are ten ways to stick to them like never before.

Ding dong! It’s a new year to make another set of unmet resolutions and vision boards that may never leave Google Slides. 

A change in the calendar doesn’t necessarily translate to behavioural changes if you don’t put in the extra effort.

Making resolutions without actionable strategies on how to achieve them will still end up in the bin.

In this new year, here are ten ways to stick to New Year resolutions and achieve success:

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10 Ways To Stick To New Year Resolutions

Understand Why

The first step in setting New Year resolutions is to understand the reason for the resolutions in the first place.

Ask yourself why making year resolutions is important and the purpose for it.

There lies the energy you need to pull through the new year.

For instance, if you’ve resolved to stop smoking, a common reason stopping smoking is important is to improve your health.

And why is it important to improve your health will be to have elongated years on earth.

With this reason in mind and at the core of your resolutions, sticking to it wouldn’t feel like a chore.

Find Loopholes 

Has there been a year when your New Year resolutions faded into thin air as January ended? 

Maybe other years or the previous years. Before setting new resolutions, lean into the previous years to understand the reason behind the setbacks.

Could it be moving to a new city, taking a pay cut, not being skilled enough or simply being lackadaisical about them?

Take a trip down memory lane to understand these lapses and implement strategic measures to curb them.

Optimize Unmet Goals

Instead of drafting new goals all over again, why not lean into the unmet goals of the previous years?

These goals are still as relevant as the new ones. As stated earlier, find loopholes to understand why these goals were not met and put systems in place to not repeat the cycle.

Identify Blockers

If you want to stick to New Year’s resolutions throughout the year, your best bet is to identify blockers.

These are possible obstacles that may hinder you from achieving your goals.

These lockers can be in the form of an environment, a person, or an event. Take an inventory of your daily activities to identify possible things that may act like blockers.

For instance, if you resolve not to smoke, a possible blocker may be hanging out around people who smoke or watching smoking-induced movies.

When these blockers are discovered, find ways to block them, and remove yourself from the equation to achieve success. 

Set Quarterly Goals

If sticking to New Year resolutions feels like a chore, why not try a different pattern of diving these goals into quarters?

Break down these goals into actionable three-month plans. Set tasks and key performance indicators to track at the end of each quarter.

For instance, if your goal for the year is to make $6000 dollars. Divide that by four and review it at the end of each quarter. 

Find An Accountability Partner

You need an accountability partner to keep you in check when the euphoria of the new year is down.

This can be a trusted friend, family, colleague or group of friends that will serve as a timely reminder to achieve your goals.

An accountability partner is necessary to boost your morale and motivate you when you feel less motivated.

Join A Community 

Another tip for sticking to your New Year goals is to join a community. Joining a community of like-minded people will propel you to stay energized and motivated throughout the year.

These communities are filled with people who probably share the same vision and hope to achieve the same goals as you.

It may be a finance community like the financial tribe community, a career community like the job box community or a religious community like the ones by your religious organizations.

The benefit of joining these communities is that you can easily find accountability partners and resources to help you stick to your New Year resolutions.

Review Your Goals

Maybe the reason New Year resolutions are overwhelming is that they are unrealistic. Another reason is that they don’t make it past the ginger era.

To ensure that you’re on track with your new year goals, ensure to review them as necessary.

You can carry out reviews either monthly or quarter to find blockers, find loopholes and identify opportunities that may either stand as a hindrance or an enabler to achieving your goals.

Practice Time Management 

If there are no behavioural changes like practising time management, the new year will be nothing but just another change in the calendar. 

Ensure to let go of old habits of procrastinating, late nights, not waking up early, not prioritizing tasks, indulging in unproductive activities, etc.

If these habits are not dealt with, sticking to your New Year’s resolutions will still remain a constant struggle.

To be good at time management, practice creating a to-do list, and leverage time management tools to optimize your tasks. 

You can also prioritize tasks according to priority and relevance. Also, automate recurring tasks to ensure smooth operations.

If all these time management strategies are implemented, you’re guaranteed to meet all your engagements and even exceed expectations.

Focus On What You Can Control

The year is still young and still at the early stage. There’s a lot that can happen either negatively or positively ranging from change in management at work, government policies, change in environment, etc.

These are things outside your control that you shouldn’t bother about. They are things that may have a direct negative impact on achieving your goals but sadly, you have no control over it.

In this case, it’s important to channel your energy to things that are directly in your control.

Things like upskilling to attract a high-paying job, applying to a new company with better management, changing environment to reposition yourself, and joining a new community that motivates you to achieve your goals.

These are things that are directly in your control and only they should take a better part of your time.

Hence, it’s important to direct your energy to these things to boost productivity and be void of negativity.

Conclusion 

This new year, don’t just set goals, go the extra mile to see them to fruition. By understanding the why behind your resolutions, finding loopholes, optimising previously unmet goals and other tips mentioned in this article. You’re guaranteed to have a new year like never before. We wish you the best this new year.