Every year, I look forward to taking the time to set new resolutions for the year ahead. During the week before New Year’s I start thinking about my resolutions. I spend a lot of time really pondering what I want for the new year; goals I want to achieve or habits I want to develop. And in recent years, I have started coming up with a word or a phrase for the year.

But, as with anyone, we all struggle to keep those resolutions, or struggle to keep going with them past February. I am one of these people as well. So I decided to come up with some ways that maybe I can keep my resolutions this year, and hopefully you as well.

Dedicate just 21 days to keeping your resolutions. In Jen Sincero’s book, she explains how we develop habits and then has a 21 day guide to doing the habit (in our case, resolution). In her guide, she has a daily reading that describes what you will probably encounter or feel that day, that might hinder you from keeping up with your habit for another day. So just tell yourself you can do anything for just 21 days.
Use a habit tracker to track your progress. I love habit trackers. I love them so much, that usually habit trackers that come in a planner are never big enough or have all the items on there I want. I like to track everything. So I actually make my own habit tracker with a dot grid that I keep in my planner. This way I can add as much or as little as I want to my habit tracker.
Reward yourself when you reach certain milestones in your progress. An example might be if you are trying to lose weight, when you reach a milestone, reward yourself with a decadent dessert or a meal you have been craving at your favorite restaurant.
Make a plan and stick with it; keep the commitment you make to yourself. Write out your goals or resolutions, and then make a specific step by step plan. Make a commitment to yourself just like you would if you were making a commitment to your boss or a friend, and stick to it. You are worth keeping the commitment to.
Have an accountability partner or someone who you can talk to about the goal you are working towards. Sometimes it helps to have someone to talk to or someone to go to the gym with, or do the diet with you. When I made the choice to get healthy for good in November of this year, my husband said, “Let’s do it together.” It means a lot when you have someone, whether it be a friend or a significant other.
Plan out how you will reach your goals and the exact steps you need to take. Take the time to write out your specific step by step plan to reach your goals, then put them in the calendar. This breaks down what seems like a really large task or goal into smaller manageable pieces that are easier to tackle.
Envision yourself as the person who has followed through on your resolutions to the end of the year. Think about how you feel and the new version of you having achieved the goals and resolutions.
Write your resolutions or the steps to reach your goals in ink in your calendar or your to do list. This year I have used pencil to write in my calendar because I may or may not do that thing or post that post on that day, but I am going to write things in ink into my calendar. Ink you cannot erase, and therefore I will be more likely to do the thing.
Stop making excuses. Just as simple as it sounds. Just don’t do it. Don’t make excuses. Each day when you don’t feel like working out, work out anyway. When you don’t feel like drinking water, drink water anyway. When you don’t feel like paying down debt, pay it down anyway.
Journal your journey or vlog your journey. Journalling or vlogging your journey helps show you where you started and how far you have come. It is a good way to see how good you are doing.
Make your falls or skips brief. This means that if you do miss a day of exercising, only miss one day. Never miss two days in a row. The more times you miss doing something or you skip something, the easier it will be to continually miss it.
Practice every day by taking another small step. I knew someone who once said something of the sorts, “do the next right thing”. This can be applied to just about anything in your life. In this case, practice each day working on your goals or resolutions. Keep taking small steps every day. Each small step, every day, will make every day a little easier.

These are a few ways to make keeping your resolutions and reaching your goals a little easier. Share in the comments any other ideas you may have for keeping resolutions. I would love to hear your ideas as well and for you to share them with this community.

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