1st of December! Exactly a month to go for the new year. I stopped believing in resolutions years ago. And Jan seems like a precarious time to start something new. Too much at stake in terms of expectations. And we do falter no matter what. I think if i just continue with the quiet and happy life I have right now, I'll be good.
If you are looking at doing certain things differently, here are a few tips
Make a list of things you'd like to do/change/start: Trust me! This is going to be a long list. While we are at it, we want to turn into a new leaf and then some. So many things make it to that list. don't hold back. go ahead and jot down everything that comes to mind. Carry the list around for a day or two, if you wish.
Once you have that list, pare it down. Try really hard to choose 3 things. The most important 3 things. It could be health and fitness (the most common one), upskilling, more work life balance. Stuff that you really need to work on but it never gets done.
Pare it further down to one. Just one. One that you'll begin the new year with. The one you'll work on for the rest of the month. As the saying goes - Well begun is half done. And you will need planning for that.
Well! What will you do the rest of the month? Say, your goal is health and fitness - since that's the most common one. There are so many decisions to go through. Even if you already have a gym membership - figuring the way you'll work out will be no. 1, if you don't - what's the kind of fitness routine will you follow. Start with cardio and build strength into it? Do you have the resources to do that? What kind of dietary changes can you easily make? What time suits you the best? Notice your everyday routine in the light of the plan that you have made. Can you sustain the plan you have in mind? How should you tweak it to increase the success rate of your plans?
Similarly, if you wish to learn a new skill, it's not a goal until you nail down the specifics. There are so may courses out there. Even if you have a few in mind, which one will you be doing? What part of the day will be set for your course work. What are some of the things that you can do to ensure the maximum success of your endeavour?
Your goals may not be as big as losing weight or upskilling. Altering habits can be goals that may not require a lot of planning but they need conscious change in the way we live.
One technique that comes to mind is habit stacking. One can benefit from this even when you set out to achieve bigger goals. You may want to be a more organised person instead of someone who spends all weekend clearing out the weekly clutter. Taking a page from Marie Kondo's book - cz the book is too impractical - learn to put things in their place as you go along. Shoes and bags, keys and receipts, jackets and books. It'll take you some will power initially until it becomes a habit.
You may want to start making healthy choices to aid your goal of weight loss. Start by changing your shopping list. Ensure you have good choices in your fridge in order to make them. Stack soy milk instead of high sugar fruit juice. Stop buying cookies and stock fruits instead. Carry nuts and dry fruits to make healthy snacking easier. When those hunger pangs hit, you don't want to be stuck with nothing but stale sandwich from your canteen. Plan ahead. These simple things can actually help you achieve your larger goals.
Goals are not achieved not by fluke. There is a lot of planning that happens. By deferring all the planning to the end of this month, we are setting ourselves up for failure. The good thing about this wake up call is that you will be a lot more prepared to be gun for success in your goals.
What are some of the goals you'd like to plan for in 2025?
