“Here’s to a bright New Year and a fond farewell to the old; here’s to the things that are yet to come, and to the memories that we hold.”
“This year, I want to quit smoking and drinking, and live a disciplined and healthy life. This will also help to improve my focus and performance on work.”
One of my friends, Simon Jones, made this resolution last year. He was a chain smoker and frequent drinker. His health deteriorated and his performance at work also started to go downhill as he struggled with multiple physical and mental health issues.
Unfortunately, Simon was unable to stand firm on his resolution and went back to his old ways after showing discipline in the first couple of months of the year 2020.
His erratic performance at work continued. Sadly, Simon had to lose his job.
Simon is not the only man on this planet to give up on his new year’s resolution way too soon. This happens to most of us; after the initial enthusiasm of trying to follow our best- laid plans, we lose motivation to pursue our goal and abandon it.
“As per research, close to 50% of the American adults make New Year’s resolution, but only 10% of these are able to stick to it for more than a few months.
You can say that Simon’s real-life story inspired me to pen down this post. After horrific and disruptive COVID-19, we all are looking forward to a productive 2021 ahead. Many of us have already made resolutions that will add a new dimension to our lives.
We do not want to follow the same cycle of making a resolution and then not following through. If you have made a new year resolution of improving performance at work while maintaining a work-life balance, you’d be better off with it than without it.
Here are 6 tips to help you stick to your new year resolution, and reap the benefits.
Choose A Specific Goal
Do you want to quit smoking, be more productive at work, lose weight, set financial goals, or buy a new car or home, or there’s some other target that you want to achieve this year?
It is perfectly fine if you have one or more of these goals, but these are still categorized as “ambiguous goals”. Instead of keeping these vague goals, you should focus on something more specific.
For example – if you’re currently completing 10 tasks a day try to push it to 12 or 13.
Make your goal realistic rather than drastic; it should be achievable to set your sights on.
Focus On One Goal At A Time
You have made a long list of New Year’s resolutions. You might be confused thinking about how you’ll achieve all or a few of them. In such a situation, it’s suggested that you should dedicate your attention and energy to just one goal rather than scattering your thoughts on different things.
This will give you a clear direction to work towards. Focusing on too many goals or things at once can drain you mentally and physically.
Choose a goal that is of top priority to you. Create a list and rank your resolutions according to their priority.
Establishing new behavioral patterns calls for sustained effort and takes time. Following a specific goal keeps your mind uncluttered and saves a lot of time and energy.
Make A Detailed Plan
As the old saying goes, “Failing to plan is planning to fail”. Extensive planning is an essential part of achieving any goal. A detailed written plan allows you to outline tactics and strategies you will use to stay on track to make your resolution become a reality.
Working towards a goal minus any plan in place can make you give up on it easily when you encounter any sort of obstacle or setback.
How to overcome this?
Well, you can start by jotting down your goal, making a list of things you will do to achieve it, and noting potential challenges that might stand in the way of achieving your goal.
You can write down how you plan to tackle potential or unexpected challenges. This will keep you well-prepared to tackle any situation and stick to your resolution.
Divide Your Goal Into Small Steps
Like in project management where tasks are broken into smaller, manageable tasks, you need to break down your goal into smaller steps. Trying too many things at one go is one of the main reasons why so many new year resolutions crash.
Be it overdoing in the gym, starting an unsustainable restrictive diet, or radically changing your normal behavior, when you put all your efforts at one go, you’re likely to derail your plans.
For example, if as a content writer, you want to increase your content delivery from 1000 words to 2500 words daily, you cannot deliver them straight away. You can break your goal into small steps, like:
Ramping up your typing speed
Reducing your mobile phone use during writing
Cutting down distractions while on work
Making templates
Review your progress daily and notice the improvements in daily delivery
Praise Yourself From Time To Time
You don’t have to wait till achieving your defined goal to celebrate your success. As mentioned above, applaud yourself on completing every step of your goal successfully. No matter what your goal is, appreciate the efforts and dedication you’re putting in daily.
In pursuit of your goal, don’t forget to pause and acknowledge yourself as you take small strides towards achieving a big goal. Give yourself a treat if you’ve managed to up your content delivery from 1000 words to 1200 words daily.
You can ask your friends or family members to cheer you up and keep pushing you towards your goal.
Learn From Mistakes, Avoid Repeating Them
Making mistakes along the way is natural, but you should learn from them and avoid repetition. One strategy for keeping your new year’s resolution is by not making the same resolution year after year.
Why? If you’re already attempted a resolution in the past and could not achieve it then chances are your mind would again be preoccupied with self-doubts, which is not a good way to start a new year.
However, if you are determined to succeed this year with the same goal then evaluate where you faltered in your last attempt? Where did you fare better? Why did you back down from your resolution last year?
Old ways won’t lead to new doors, so change your approach to get the results you want.
Epilogue
The world looks forward to a new year and hopes it will bring them better results than the previous year. However, you have to work towards achieving your goals, and not give up on them until you’ve grabbed them by the scruff of their necks!
So, have a clear vision for the year ahead and use time-tested strategies to keep in sync with your set targets. Face and overcome challenges head-on and never stop until you realize your resolution for the new year.
Good luck for 2021!
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