Okay, I’m the first to admit that I’m horrible at staying organized. I love to do too many things, so it’s hard to keep my creative brain in check. This year I want things to be different! So I’ve decided to create some goals for myself. If you’ve ever started a New Year’s Resolution only to find out that two weeks in you are back to your same old habits, you’re not the only one. I’ve been there too!
I love creating digital products, so I’ve decided that this year I’m going to focus on creating digital products that will help all of you. I’m pretty sure they will help me too.
This month the digital product I’ve created is a weekly and monthly calendar. I love to journal but sometimes it’s too time consuming for a working mom, so I’ve created something that is quick and easy to use and hopefully it will help me to be more organized. You can use it weekly or just monthly, it’s totally up to you.
Here’s How I Plan to Get my New Year’s Resolution to Actually Stick
Set a Goal
The first thing you need to do is set a goal. What do you want to get better at this year? If you have a goal for yourself you will know what you are working towards. Write it down so that you can see it. It always helps me when I see the goal over and over again and it reminds me what I’m working towards.
You could even put a picture of something you will give yourself when you have accomplished your goal. See the list below for some fun ways to celebrate.
My goal this year is to create a weekly and monthly calendar to help me be more organized about planning things out for my blog. I also would like to create more digital products to help my readers. If you have any ideas, please feel free to let me know in the comments below.
Plan
Make a plan for how you are going to meet your goal. Once you have set a goal, it is very important to make a plan. I’m a Reading Specialist, so at the beginning of each school year, I work with my students to set goals for their reading. Many times students need to learn how to form good reading habits, which is challenging without a plan.
We talk about how important it is to have a plan in place. I have my students think about where they are going to read, how they are going to keep track of their reading and write a SMART goal. I have a SMART goal worksheet in my product on TPT.
A SMART goal is:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Realistic
- Timely
So, when thinking about yourself this year, what is it that you really want to get better at? I know I really want to get better at scheduling blog posts and not always scrabbling at the last minute.
Set out a specific time to work on your goal. My scheduled time to work on my blog is usually Monday nights after my kids have gone to bed. It’s good to have a time set aside to work on your goal. If you try to work on your goal here and there you probably won’t do it. I know this from experience, unfortunately.
Accountability
If you set a goal and have worked out a plan, make sure you tell someone about it. Is there someone who can hold you accountable? This is just another way to help you actually commit to working towards your goal. If someone else knows about it, they can ask you how you are doing and check in with you every once in a while.
In addition to being more organized when it comes to my blog, I want to work on organizing my photos. I love love love taking pictures but I’m awful at going back through, organizing and printing them! I have years of photographs sitting on multiple hard drives for fear that one may go out and my precious memories will disappear! This year I’ve decided to go through them and starting making yearly books.
Who wants to keep me accountable for this?? Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Check-In
It’s always good to check in and see how things are going. Some good questions to ask yourself are:
- Am I working towards my goal? If not, what is getting in the way?
- Have I checked in with my accountability partner lately?
- How far have I come?
- What do I still need to work on?
- Do I feel like I made a reasonable goal?
- Is there anything I want to add to my goal?
- What are my next steps?
Celebrate!!!
When you’ve met your goal, make sure to treat yourself! It’s so important to celebrate all your hard work because accomplishing a goal is hard work. Okay, maybe it isn’t for you, but I know I’m going to need some sort of celebration when I’m done!
Here are some fun ways to celebrate:
What is your New Year’s Resolution this year?
How are you going to accomplish your goal?
I always have such a hard time sticking to my resolutions but I’m really really intent on doing so this year! My first goal is to take an outfit pic everyday (I’m a fashion blogger) and my second is to weed out my closet and minimilize my style. It’s going…so so haha. Writing it down and visualizing it has definitely helped though!
Visualizing has really helped me too! I have learned that I need to see my goal in order to achieve it! I think my summer goal will be to minimize my wardrobe- I have way too many clothes. I would love to do a capsule, but honestly, it makes me a little nervous. Let me know if you have any tips!
My new year’s resolution was to eliminate meat from my diet. I knew that I couldn’t just dive into it so I created a plan to begin eliminating it one meal at a time. First breakfasts, then lunch, and then dinner. It was gradual of course. But I’m now almost two months in and no meat. These steps do work!
That is awesome Rhonda! It feels so good to make a goal and work towards it. Giving up something gradually is such a great way to set yourself up for success.
I love this! It can be so hard to keep your goals, but I think one day at a time avdcusing your suggestions can really make it a possibility!
Yes, I agree! Working at it one day at a time is such a good way to think about it!
Since many resolutions are WORK I think this is where I go wrong, not rewarding progress! Thanks for these tips.
I have found that sometimes I need to break my goal into smaller pieces. I tend to make my goals too big and by breaking them down, they become more manageable and easier to achieve. The work part is hard too, because usually it means changing something. Change is difficult, even if you have a plan! Meeting your goal is the best feeling and celebrtating, even the little things, will help you be successful!