Everyone makes a New Year resolution. Some people make a few. The start of the year is seen as a good time to make a change. It could be to lose weight, save more money, or spend time with the family. However, you need to think about the resolutions you’re making. Too many people give up on them after the first couple of weeks. Here are a few tips to keep your New Year resolutions.
Are They Reasonable and Realistic?
Make sure the resolutions are realistic and reasonable for your current situation. If you want to save money but know that you have no disposable income for that, is that really something that you will be able to do?
If you still want to, check out point two! There is no point making a resolution that you know will be impossible to keep.
Set Up an Action Plan
So many people set the resolution and then just hope that it comes true. However, you need an action plan. If you want to save for the future, you need to put a plan in place to show how you’re going to do that.
You need to say how much you’re going to save each month and how you’re going to do that if you’re already struggling.
Have a Backup Plan
Even the best laid out plans go wrong at times. You never know what is going to happen around the corner, so you need a backup plan. Think ahead and put in a plan just in case your action plan doesn’t work out.
This doesn’t need to be elaborate. For example, if you find that you have an emergency and need to use the money you would usually save, what would you save instead?
Make Yourself Accountable
Tell someone that you are setting a New Year resolution. By being accountable, you are more likely to see it through. It could be a close family member who will ask you how your resolution is going at strategic points.
You don’t need to tell the people close to you; you could use a blog online to tell strangers, who may find benefit from seeing you accomplish your goals.
Split Your Resolution Down
This is similar to your action plan. You need to split your resolution down into manageable goals. For example, there is no point saying that you want to lose five stone by the end of the year.
While that is possible, you will find it daunting. You may want to give yourself little goals to meet along the way, such as a stone every couple of months or so.
Track Your Journey
Make a note of the journey along the way. It helps to keep yourself accountable to you. This is also a chance to write about how you feel about your resolution and you may find a pattern along the way.
If you do struggle one month, you may find it helpful to revisit your goals and action plan to see if it needs changing. But you can’t do that if you don’t track!