Effective Resolutions

At this time of the year, many people take resolutions. Unfortunately, new year's resolutions are often synonymous with January resolutions: they're taken on January 1st, and are dropped around the 31st.

I think it doesn't have to be this way, and I'd like to share some tricks I've experimented with in order to enact changes more effectively, and more durably.

The New Year

First of all, I think the new year is a great time to take stock on what happened during the past twelve months, what we've learned, discovered, accomplished or had difficulty with. That being said, I think the new year is NOT a good time to take resolutions.

If you find that you consistently fail at keeping your new year's resolutions, then I would suggest taking a break from them, until you figure out how to make resolutions work for you.

The problem with new year's resolutions is that there is a lot of social inertia around them. People pump each other up by announcing grand resolutions, which pushes them to bite more than they can chew. Then, a few weeks later, most people start losing steam and drop their resolutions, but since so many people over-inflated their expectations, they just shrug it off, essentially giving each other a free pass instead of holding themselves accountable.

This doesn't mean no one should ever take new year's resolutions, but unless you can effectively keep a resolution at other times of the year, you should probably work on that first. Flex your resolution muscles all year long, then January will be just another month where you can chew off a bit more, if you choose.

Now that this is out of the way, let's see how to actually become better at choosing and keeping resolutions.

Take Resolutions Whenever

Whatever your goals are, be it health, career, relationships, education, or anything else, if you're serious about accomplishing them, you should be ready to enact changes in your life frequently. Way more frequently than once a year.

It doesn't have to be the first of the month, or the end of a quarter or, God forbid, January 1st. The best time to take any resolution is when you feel like you need it most. I'll wager there's a 364/365 probability that "when you need it most" is any other day besides Jan 1st ;)

For some people, Monday (or some other day of the week) is when they feel like they have a clean slate and can most effectively enact a change. If that's your case, that's fine. Do whatever works for you. Just be careful not to box yourself into some kind of resolution schedule that is too rigid to open up when you actually need it.

Be mindful of your personal progress and challenges, so that when the time comes to make a change, you are sufficiently aware to pull the trigger. Now.

Take Small Resolutions

In many cases, it is easier to take small resolutions. An ideal resolution is one which you can turn into a daily habit which takes no more than 10 to 15 minutes. Start small. Be consistent. You can work you way up from there later.

The ease of accomplishing the goal will set you up for success, and success builds confidence, which can help you trigger a virtuous circle to take on more and more.

Take One Resolution

When you're working on a resolution, focus on it. Don't chase two rabbits at once. Internalizing a new habit probably takes around 30 days, if practiced daily. For some people it may take longer, and some habits may be harder to keep than others. Know yourself. Be aware of your progress, and whether you are still struggling.

If you feel like the change you begun a while ago is now a solid part of yourself, then you may have the bandwidth to tackle your next one.

Scrutinize Resolutions

Are you even getting what you hoped out of your change? Assess your results. If you can actually measure them, even better.

Your resolutions should be concrete and actionable, but they should be evaluated under the lens of an overarching goal. For example, walking 15 minutes a day might be the resolution, and losing weight might be the overarching goal. Is that working the way you hoped?

This scrutiny helps you consider whether you need to keep, ramp up, or drop a resolution. Yes, I did say drop. There are plenty of good reasons for dropping resolutions. Hopefully, we all agree that "my new year's resolution gym buddies flaked out" is not one of them (:

Personally, I try to do roughly one new resolution per month, and drop one every couple of months. This way, I internalize about half a dozen useful resolutions per year, and shed about as many which I don't find useful anymore (or at all). I'm not doing this on a formal schedule. I just try to remain aware of personal challenges and opportunities, and adapt accordingly.

Closing Thoughts

If you're interested in digging deeper, some of the concepts presented here come from The Power of Less. It's a short, impactful read, that I would definitely recommend.

Besides the above, there are other methods or aspects that may be worth considering on the topic of enacting change. I could expand on this in future posts, if anyone finds it valuable. Is this interesting to you?

I'd like to hear your comments. What works for you? What doesn't? What have you tried? What change brought you the most bang for the buck?

Happy new year everyone!