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It's time to set our New Year's Resolutions!

It's often this time of year that we decide to make changes to our lives that we hope will lead to good, positive changes.  However, it's also very well known that in the following few weeks we'll lose motivation and interest in our eager changes and once again revert to our old, bad habits.

So how do we keep ourselves motivated to actually keep and complete our goals?

Let me share with you a couple of can't-miss ideas that will help you keep your goals in-reach and obtainable for our New Year's Resolutions.... or any goals we want to set for ourselves.

Keep Your New Year's Resolutions UMAA!!

 

If I said I wanted to lose weight, stop smoking or get fit you'd probably say that sounds like your average New Year's Resolution.  And you'd be right.  Complete with the average effort and average results you'd get with that kind of goal.

What I'd like you to do this time with your goal is to make it an ultra-specific, measurable and accountable goal. Let me explain....

Ultra-Specific

Rather than simply say that "weight loss" or "building a better relationship" is your goal, let's set some specifics and boundaries that we will work within to create those goals.

"Weight loss" is not a specific goal.  If I simply said weight loss and I fasted for a day I could lose weight.  Did that help me set that goal?  Yes, but... I'd also want to add more to that goal.  So let's set a number and a date to that goal so we have something to work towards.

"Weight loss" becomes 25 pounds by April 1st.  "Start a business" is now "I will have my first customer by January 10th, I will complete their project one week later".  So on and so forth.

Measurable

These days it is easier than ever to track progress of anything you wish to accomplish.  Whether it be in an app or a physical book, a calendar or whatever there are means to track and measure your progress to your goals.

For instance, if you wish to track your running workouts this year, simply start using a free app like Strava or mapmyrun and record those miles there.  You'll get instant feedback on your daily run, time spent running, what days you've ran and how far you've run.  I mean, what's not to like about that??

Want to shed a few pounds?  Record your daily weight in your own private book so you know what number you're at and where you're going.

Want to start saving money?  Record money in, money spent.  Track those pennies!

Building a YouTube or email list?  What are your numbers today, yesterday and where you want to be tomorrow.  Measure, measure measure.

Accountable

There's nothing quite like making goals with no accountability built in.  Did you tell your coworkers you're quitting smoking?  Make sure they all know it and make sure you surround yourself with people who want to see you succeed in your goals.

Let's say you're doing some kind of 30, 60 or 100 day challenge.  Put a message on Facebook and record a daily message about your progress.  After a while your friends will start to rely on that update and you'll feel pressure to succeed not only for you but for them as well.

Actionable

I don't think there's anything wrong with making big, world changing goals but you need to create a list of actionable steps to help you achieve those goals.  Breaking goals down into small, achievable steps is a surefire way to build your way to achieving the "impossible".

In fact, I'd go as far as to say you should break your goals down into small, 10 minute chunks of goal setting, so that they're so small you can't help but accomplish that small goal.  You'll also find that simply finishing a few 10 minute goals will help you snowball goal achieving and productivity and give you the motivation to carry out and complete those big dreamy goals in no time.

I hope this helps you conquer your New Year's Resolutions for this year and for many years to come!

I'm really excited to offer my next book for sale!  One Foot, One Shoe. Simple Steps To Crush Procrastination And Get Things Done is available exclusively on the Amazon Kindle.

...continue reading "One Foot, One Shoe Crush Procrastination Now Available!"

Procrastination.  Even the thought of the word drives me crazy.  But why does it emote such a response to anyone aiming for higher performance, yet has become such a part of our daily routine?

...continue reading "Effective Ways To Battle Procrastination"

I like to make a quick checklist of three things to do before I leave my house for any reason. Otherwise I end up wasting my time and/or opportunities. Here’s what I do:

...continue reading "3 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU LEAVE YOUR HOUSE"

There are no hard and fast rules about what tools you must own, if you are going to embark on a mission to improve your time management skills. The following simple tools, however, are inexpensive, and can help make the process of tracking, planning and organizing your time easier and less burdensome.

These simple tools help you with time management by breaking down your day into three key areas: WHERE you spend your time, WHAT you are doing and WHY you do the things that you do.

It's that simple, really.  Let's look at tools that make it simple to tackle the WHERE, WHAT, and WHY of effective time management.

Time Monitor Journal- This resource comes in both the digital and traditional varieties.  It is useful in helping you to monitor and record your own use of time, in order to identify key areas for change.

While a special journal is not needed, you may find that a ready made one saves you time in the long run, by doing the majority of the work for you prior to the actual recording of your activities.

Planner- Available in digital and traditional formats, planners are wonderful for recording goals, making notes, keeping track of appointments and more.  A planner is a must have to help you stay organized and on target, when working toward your goals.

Select a planner that allows you enough room to keep track of a number of appointments and daily goals, but that is small enough so that you are able to carry it with you at all times.

Organizer- These can be useful for planning a specific project, or managing a number of projects all at the same time. Digital and traditional versions of project organizers are available that can help you stay on top of the job.

What's your best-yet-simple-and-effective tool for time management?  Leave me a comment!