Plan for 2011 ... or the top 10 tips on how to make new year's resolutions last more than a week

Pre-Christmas snow

We've just arrived back from our Christmas visit to my parents in Scotland.  

Initially it was doubtful we would leave home for the snow.  Even getting to the airport was a feat.  The 5 minute journey took about half an hour as all of London seemed to be trying the only airport just moderately affected by the pre-Christmas weather.  We made the flight by the skin of teeth after running through the airport - even our 5 year old was dragging a suitcase.  It made the Griswald's vacations look tame! 

The rest of the time was much less eventful.  The snow and ice made for a few treacherous trips out but was soon washed away in the rain that followed.  Santa did indeed find us, much to the kids' relief, although I think he may have been a bit liberal with the nice list this time.

I must confess that I have not felt that level of stress in a long time - living in a small apartment with 4 adults and 3 kids.  I am still feeling the effects of it now!  Matt bought me a diary for 2011 while we were there and it had a little bit on stress management on one of the pages (no, he didn't know it was there!).  It said I need to do some things that I find relaxing.  I realised I don't do anything that I find relaxing.  Perhaps a bit of that in 2011 will be a bonus.  Which brings me nicely to how to make new year's resolutions last more than a day.  Is it even possible?

I am not very confident in the ability of new year's resolutions to last more than a day, let alone a week. Nor are most people! The reason for this is primarily because we have great intentions for a fresh start which fade when the reality of everyday busyness meets our old habits head on.

Here are my top 10 ways to get a good headstart before the old habits start to kick and fuss.

1. Plan ahead - give yourself enough time to think realisitically.  Often, last minute planning can be emotionally driven rather than systematic.  But then who said it had to be all finalised by New Year's day?  Only they, and no one know who they are.
2. Set goals that are SMART - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timebound.  There are many websites out there that can help you with setting goals.  Just remember if your goals are not SMART, then it is unlikely that you will be successful in reaching them.
3. Be positive - set a goal to start a new habit rather than stop one and let it benefit others as well as you.
4. Categories - choose the parts of your life that you most want to work on during the coming year, for example, God, yourself, husband, children, family, work, church, business, charity, travel, the world.
5. Don't overdo it - set an absolute maximum 6 to 8 goals for the year.  This is a process not a miracle cure all!
6. Tell others - share your plans with at least one other person.  Have someone you can be accountable to, someone you can call when you are tempted to eat that cake or smoke just one cigarette in a moment of pressure.  Make sure you tell someone who will be supportive!
7. Evaluate - keep track of you progress, evaluating how far you have come.  You may need to alter some of the goals and objectives you set so that they continue to be SMART.  Altering goals does not mean failure.  Goals need to remain attainable and relevant to your circumstances.
8. Life plan - consider your life plan when setting your new year's resolutions.  Your life plan consists of your long term plans and outcomes you want to achieve in your life and your short term goals, such as new year's resolutions should take you towards these goals rather than in any other direction.  For more information on setting simple life plan, why not take a look at Michael Hyatt's blog post on the matter or read more in my blog on creating a better story for your life.
9. Rewards - set yourself rewards for reaching objectives, milestones and goals.
10. Have fun - make sure you can enjoy the goals you are setting!  There is nothing worse than being bored by the goals you set!

So I guess you want to know about my goals for the coming year?  You will have to check back over the next few days as that will form part of my next blog post!

Happy New Year to you all!

Robyn