5 Ways to Solve New Year’s Resolution Problems

Contributed by Tina Relampagos

Three weeks after 2016 clocked in and we’ve already moved on from the Holidays. Up at the usual hour, drink coffee to start the day, read social media news feed on the way to work, catch up on favourite TV shows before going to sleep. I’m sure you’ve already said “the day is over?!” and before you know it, another month will be over, then another, and another… At some point you'll wonder, what happened about spend time doing the things you said you’ll do – your New Year’s Resolutions!

Don’t panic, just yet. I've put my years of making resolutions, failing and succeeding and came up with the 5 most common problems in keeping your New Year’s Resolutions and other goals, and here are our most effective ways to address them:

Problem: You forget

Solution: List them down

Of course you’ve listed them down somewhere: on a piece of flowery paper, in your planner, or in your head. But that’s what you did last year (and the years before that). If you really want to stay true to that New Year’s Resolution, list them down on things that you encounter every waking day. My favorites are Wunderlist and Google Keep. You can keep your work tasks here, notes from meetings and reminders about things you want to do. So there is no way you can forget about having your New Year’s Resolution list here.

Problem: You lack inspiration

Solution: Keep them in sight

Be creative about keeping yourself inspired by creating a dream board that you can put up in your room or office desk. Use images that remind you of why you want them – scenery from the mountain top of a hike you always wanted to take or dashboard of your dream car. If you’re in front of the computer and your mobile phone most of the day, create a digital dream board wallpaper. You can even take it further by making it public and using that digital dream board as your Facebook cover! Now you really have to make that resolution happen.

Problem: You lack motivation after January

Solution: Resolution buddy

Why do it on your own when you can have a friend to support you or laugh at you while you’re at it? A good friend of mine once said, if you really want to make improvements in yourself, you need someone else to keep track of how you’re doing and you need to keep track of someone else’s plans.

Problem: Don’t know where to start

Solution: Be specific

Don’t do vague resolutions like “live life to the fullest”, “go out more”, “have more fun”, “learn something new”. It will be difficult to get your foot in the door if you don’t know which door to open in the first place. So instead of live life to the fullest, say “take a solo Euro trip”. “Try new restaurants and bars twice a month with different groups of friends” instead of go out more. Say “learn to dive in Bohol this summer” instead of just learn something new. And let go of have more fun but focus on “go to a music festival”.

Problem: Don’t know when to start

Solution: 30-day challenges

Some resolutions aren’t big life changing or life threatening ideas. They can be as simple as creating a reading habit, writing a blog, or taking weekend cooking lessons. Sometimes, they seem so simple that you keep putting them off. Watch this video from TED about 30-day challenges to ignite a little motivation.

Give yourself a few hours before going to bed today to get yourself started, for real this time, on your goals. Remember, we want to make our 2016 the best year yet! 

“The next 30 days are going to pass whether you like it or not.

So why not think of something you’ve always wanted to try.” – Matt Cutts