The year is winding down and we all know what that means: New Year’s Resolutions. Over the next few weeks we’ll be giving you some tips and tricks to help you succeed in your resolutions because we know having a support system is one of the most important aspects of reaching your goals. Before we can give you any tips, however, you have to have some concrete goals in place; so if you haven’t already committed to any, we urge you to grab a pen and a piece of paper and start writing down your goals! When thinking of all you want to accomplish in 2018, think about the acronym WHY SMART. Why smart goals, you ask? When you make goals with this acronym in mind you are taking the first step to making sure your goals are actually attainable, and here’s why: “WHY” stands for Written, Harmonious, and Yours. There have been studies concluding that writing down your goals vastly increases the likelihood that you will reach them because you are actively committing them not only to memory but to paper, which provides a record for you to constantly refer to. Harmonious means that they fit within your lifestyle; you can’t make a goal to become 100% vegetarian when your favorite food is fried chicken - it’s not harmonious with your lifestyle, so the likelihood of sticking to this resolution is very low. And lastly, Yours means that your goals have to be your own. You won’t be motivated to reach any goals that you do not fully believe in. “SMART” stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. Making your goals SMART will cut out any ambiguity and allow you to have a set-in-stone plan for reaching your goal. For example, if a person weighs 210 lbs and already has a low percentage of body fat it would not be realistic for them to lose 50 lbs in 6 months; to start, 50 lbs would not be realistic because they are already lean and would have to lose muscle mass and barely eat in order to reach that goal. A SMART goal would be: “I want to lose 20 lbs by July 1, 2018.” This is a specific goal that is measurable (by weighing), achievable and realistic, while also having a specific date attached to it. Now that we know how to set our goals, it’s time for our first tip to start your New Year off right! Author and motivational speaker John Maxwell once said in an interview: “The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda.” This couldn’t be more true. In today’s age, it’s far too easy to be distracted by social media and technology, so the first step in maximizing your productivity in order to reach your goals is to put in place a schedule that you will be able to follow. Here’s how you can do it and stick to it! Plan ahead. Every night before you go to bed think about the day ahead and the things you need accomplish. Make a list of the most important tasks that need to get done in your daily life, things like making dinner, completing appointments, and any day to day tasks that you must do. Next, make a list of tasks that will bring you toward accomplishing your resolutions: things like going to the gym for thirty minutes, or taking half an hour with your spouse at the end of every day to just relax. Once you have established what you need to get done, make an outline of your day and find places in which you can fit these tasks. Block off your time. If you know you must accomplish certain things every day, blocking off your time can be a real game changer. When you block off your calendar for certain tasks, like paying bills or making reports for work, make sure you remain focused by logging out of social media and alerting your co-workers or family that during this time you are not to be disturbed. Review your day. At the end of every day take 10-15 minutes to reflect on all you accomplished, and make note of the things you did not accomplish. This will give you a good idea of the areas you need to focus on the next day and what habits (like too much socializing, or too much internet time) are stopping you from completing the tasks that will ultimately bring you closer to your goals. To help you with these tips and to stay on track, we invite you to try the first step of our New Year, New You challenge: at the beginning of each day set an interval timer to go off every 15 minutes. When it goes off, write down in your notebook what you are doing at that exact moment. See if you can do the first three days of the year; this will show you how you are using your time, and what aspects of your life eat up the time you could be spending to reach your goals. We wish you luck in sticking to your New Year’s Resolutions, and remember to stay tuned in the weeks to come for more tips and tricks on how to maximize your potential, reach your goals, and accomplish your dreams!
