New Year’s Resolutions You Can Actually Keep

I’m sure everyone watching has made a new year’s resolution that didn’t last past January. Maybe the resolution was unrealistic or maybe you didn’t have enough support. Whatever the reason, it’s time to make some new year’s resolutions you can actually keep. Here are some tips on how to do it.

1. Make habit-based resolutions.

When you make habit-based resolutions, you will find it easier to stick to any other goals you set. Choose habits that will help you to achieve other goals. For example, you can set a resolution to wake up earlier in the morning and set an alarm for an earlier time each morning than you would normally set it. When you achieve this goal, you will be able to achieve your productivity-based goals better because you will have more energy to get jobs done early in the morning than in the evening after a long day’s work.

2. Make trackable resolutions.

When you can track your resolutions, you’ll more likely keep them. For example, if you decide that your family will only spend $500 a month on food in the coming year, and yes, that is doable for a family of 4. I’ve done it myself, you can track it by only doing your grocery shopping using only one card. I use the PC money account here in Canada and no, they are not sponsoring this video. The PC money account spends like a credit card, except you need to put the money on it first. You aren’t actually borrowing from anyone. So, what you do is, you put $125 on the card each week and only use that card for groceries. When you set up the card, don’t choose the overdraft option. That way you won’t be able to spend past your limit. If you go past your limit, your card will reject the purchase at the checkout. That’s how much this card helps you stick to your limit. Keep your receipts and put them in an envelope. At the end of the month, look at your receipts and see how much you spent each week. Add it all up to make sure you’ve stayed under budget.

3. Make time-based resolutions.

When you set specific times or time frames, you will likely be able to stick to them if you keep them short. For example, if you make a resolution to only grocery shop once a week, you can pick a day and easily stick to it. So let’s say you pick Wednesday for shopping day and on Monday you notice you are almost out of rice. Instead of running out to the store to buy rice, and incidentally picking up 30 other things and blowing your budget, you can simply make adjustments to your meal plan so that you don’t need to get the rice until Wednesday. Put rice on your shopping list and that will reduce the deficient feeling that you normally get when you notice you are out of a food item. Remember to keep the time frames short. Set a goal that you accomplish within a week rather than within a month.

I've given you money and shopping-based examples, but these principles will work for any type of resolution. Keep your new year’s resolutions habit-based, trackable, and time-based and I am confident that you will be able to keep them. Happy new year!