How to Make New Year’s Resolutions You’ll Stick to| Ideas for 2020
New year new you, right? I’m one of those people who makes new year’s resolutions every year and it always surprises me when friends and family shy away from it. Making resolutions has become so habitual, that when I don’t make them I feel lost… But when I asked around this year and heard why friends and family said ‘no’ to making new year’s resolutions, I understood why.
“It makes me feel bad about myself because I never stick to it!”
Sound familiar?
I have a different mindset when it comes to resolutions, which is probably why I keep making them year after year. They should never make you feel bad, even when you don’t achieve them. They’re the opposite actually — a testament to who you are and what you want to achieve; an excuse to grow and live up to your potential.
Whether they’re big or small, new year’s resolutions are a great way to enter the new decade. So before you say ‘no’ to making resolutions, take a look at how I break mine down and how I phrase them. And remember, it’s never too late to start!
Keep them S.M.A.R.T.
It’s important to keep you new year’s resolutions SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. It’s a marketing acronym we use when building client strategies at Soar Media Group. And it works.
First, you need to start where you are and decide on the small steps that will take you where you want to be. Maybe you want to lose weight* but you haven’t been active in over 12 months. So instead of jumping head first, start with “I want to exercise twice a week.” It’s realistic, measurable and is a good first step for someone who isn’t active.
Phrase your resolutions so that you just need to start, not go the whole mile. If they’re realistic you’re more likely to achieve them, and not feel bad once the new year hits.
*For the record, I don’t think losing weight should ever be a new year’s resolution, but I recognize it is one of the most popular! Instead, consider goals that help you live a healthy lifestyle like eating more vegetables or trying one new healthy recipe a week. Weight doesn’t necessarily indicate health.
Write them down
Writing down your goals will remind you of what you want to achieve and hold you more accountable. I write mine in my agenda, but if you’re more visual you might be keen to make a Pinterest board. Either way, creating a physical copy of your goals will keep you motivated and remind yourself of all those great things you wanted to tackle in 2020.
Check-in regularly and adapt your resolutions as the year progresses
Checking in on your new year’s resolutions is a great way to keep interest, while adapting them is a great way to prevent you from ‘feeling bad about yourself.’ Given how unexpected life can be, it’s unrealistic (going back to SMART) to think that all your goals have to be achieved no matter what.
The idea of new year’s resolutions is to get you started in the right direction. So as the year progresses you can adapt and change them as needed.
Shop 2020 Agendas
Put your New Year’s Resolutions into categories
This is probably because I’m type-A and love to make lists, but first thing I do when creating new year’s resolutions is decide what categories are important to me. This helps me keep my resolutions full-rounded. Some of the categories I use are:
Responsibility
Finances
Education
Self-development
Health
Work/ Career
Travel
Friends & Family
So without further adieu, here’s my 2020 resolutions…
My 2020 New Year’s Resolutions
Donate my time and resources, at least twice a year, to organizations I am passionate about
Category: Responsibility
When I turned 30 I did a lot of self-reflection and realized volunteerism/ donating was a big piece missing in my 20’s; I had so much to be proud of yet my lack of volunteerism made me question the example I was leading. This year (and decade) I want to make more of an effort to be involved in my community as well as organizations I’m passionate about.
In the wake of the Australian brush fires, Owen and I have donated to the Wires Wildlife Rescue. I plan on continuing this commitment throughout the year and decade.
Read 12 books in the year
Category: Self-development
I went on a press trip to France last May and met a writer who really inspired me. Every chance she had, she pulled a novel out of her purse. “I read every day,” she told me.
I did too at one point, but somewhere between starting my business, managing my house and spending more time with family, I lost my love for reading. There’s something so powerful about being lost in a book; being brought into another world by simply reading. This year I want to make more of an effort to read, reading a minimum of 12 books in the year.
Explore one new spot
Category: Travel
Travel is something I will always enjoy, but this year I really want to make the effort to explore somewhere new. I haven’t decided where because I want it to have a flexible budget.
Learn something new
Category: Education
I’m thinking of taking sommelier class but I’m open to ideas. As long as I’ve learned one new thing I’ve experienced growth! This is also one of those goals that will be adapted as the year progresses. Mid-year I’ll be able to make it more specific.
Make my home more eco-friendly
Category: Responsibility
We have spent a lot of time making our home eco-friendly, from getting a new dishwasher to replacing our AC unit to *almost* being a plastic-free zone. But this year I want to do more research into the small changes we can make.
Blog or Vlog once a week
Category: Work
Remember when I used to blog all the time? Me too. Starting a business was one of the best decisions I ever made, but it also taught me a lot about how to prioritize my to-do lists. This year I want to be more mindful of how I’m spending my time, taking into consideration that I want to blog or vlog once a week.
And that’s everything! I didn’t include goals regarding Friends and Family or Finances because I’m happy with where I’m at with those two categories (I spend a lot of time with friends and family and I spend a lot of time working on saving for retirement, etc.), so instead I focused on categories where I can see growth. The best thing about new year’s resolutions is that they are specific to you and where you are in your life. Each year you can focus on something different.
Whether you choose to make resolutions this year or not, I hope you found this helpful. Wishing you all the positive vibes in 2020!
Xoxo,
Tee
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