Setting New Year’s Goals
Happy New Year! Setting a New Year’s resolution has been a method of examining what’s truly important in our lives, reflecting on the year behind us, and planning for the year ahead.
The disheartening reality is that not many people will see their goals through: In fact, around 80% will fail by February!
The good news is that if you break up your resolutions into smaller goals and reward yourself when you meet one, you’ll feel motivated and empowered.
One strategy is to make yourself accountable to other people. Meet a friend at the gym or class, or plan an outing with someone and show up. It can be helpful to keep track of your progress on a calendar or log to have a visual reinforcement of your efforts towards meeting your goals.
Start your new year by creating a list. Brainstorm and write as many goals as you like knowing that you’ll eliminate some of them for this year. After you’ve made your list narrow it down to 3-5 attainable resolutions/goals.
Next, make a plan for starting these new behaviors (i.e., calendar out the days you will exercise, if you need a babysitter schedule one so you can clean out your closet, or go to lunch with a friend etc.). Physically writing it down increases the chances of you completing the activity.
If you find yourself forgetting about your resolution or goal, remind yourself that this is a new behavior and new behaviors take time to establish, and start again. Negative thinking will not help motivate you so keep your thoughts positive.
Here are some ideas to help with your brainstorming:
1. Have a budget and pay bills once a month on time. If you can schedule and pay all of your bills at the beginning of the month you won’t have to think about it again for the rest of the month. Less stress means more time to focus on new goals.
2. Practice mindfulness/gratitude. Anxiety and stress are always present and can interfere with your new goals. Practicing mindfulness means doing everything you can to be grateful for what you have in this moment, and for where you are in life right now. Take a mindful minute every day.
3. Cook something new each week. Everyone wants to eat healthier in the new year, and we get bored with the same meals. This year, choose an easy dinner recipe that you’ve never tried before at least once a week.
4. Clean out drawers and closets. Start with a drawer in your bathroom or dresser. Take everything out, throw away/donate items and put less back in the drawer. If you’re still motivated continue to another drawer. Do the same with your closet. If you haven’t worn an item of clothing in 6-9 months, donate it.
5. Make a weekly menu and only shop once. I like to make my life a little less complicated whenever I can, and this technique really helps. I make a weekly menu on Sunday, along with my grocery list, and I shop after work on Mondays. I put the menu up by the family calendar, so everyone always knows what’s for dinner and I only go to the grocery store once a week.
6. Sleep. So many issues can be traced back to a poor night's sleep. Take small simple steps to improve your sleep like going to bed at the same time each night. Turning off electronics 1-2 hours before bedtime, the blue light effects your body’s ability to prepare for sleep because it blocks your melatonin. Have the light low when washing your face and brushing your teeth. Make sure your alarm clock has a low LED setting so it’s not bright. Use essential oils on your wrists, bottoms of your feet, or spray your pillow. And don’t drink caffeine after 12 noon or it may interfere with your sleep cycles.
7. Try a guided workout or class. You don’ need to pay for a new gym membership to try a new workout or class! YouTube offers a lot of programming from qualified experts. They have everything from dance classes to 15-minute core workouts.
8. Explore new hobbies. When researchers followed 7,500 people for 25 years, they found that those who complained of major boredom were roughly twice as likely to die from heart disease. So, sign up for that watercolor class, learn a new instrument or new language!
9. Do one thing at a time. Multitasking doesn’t make you more efficient, but it can stress you out. Try and organize your activities into chunks of time, such as kid time and cooking time, and then really try and be focused during that allotted time and see what happens. This technique will help stop you from overthinking everything.
10. Head outside without your phone. At least once a day leave your phone in the house and go outside. Focus on breathing in fresh air, looking at the birds, the plants, your garden, and thinking positive thoughts. Feel grateful for this time in life, to be alive, to be outside in nature, take another deep belly breath and see where your thoughts take you.
