New Year’s Eve is surrounding by a lot of magic. People reflect on the year they just had and realize what they have been doing wrong as well as what they need to change to live more successful and happy lives. As a result, people tend to be very motivated around this time of year and even a couple of weeks into the new year (just look at how packed gyms are in January to figure that one out).
Unfortunately, the motivation starts to waver and many people revert back to their old habits. Some don’t, but most people do. In fact, only 9.2 percent of people ever achieve their New Year’s resolutions.
How can you keep the momentum going well into the new year?
While it ultimately comes down to the individual, here are some tactics to incorporate all year long.
It all starts with a good plan
Momentum doesn’t last forever, which is why achieving your goals and building better habits starts with a good plan. Whether you work in commercial truck insurance or own a marketing business, you can’t stop taking action.
Your plan, daily schedule, to-do list, or whatever you want to call it needs to incorporate the things you want to achieve outside of the obvious work tasks you have to finish on a daily basis. If you don’t incorporate your plan, then life will happen and you will continue to push your goals off.
Whether it’s for 30 minutes or four-plus hours a day, create a plan that features your goal work as well as the tasks you need to finish throughout the day. This will give you a better idea of how much time you can dedicate to your goals without feeling overwhelmed.
If you can only dedicate 30 minutes a day, then that’s fine as long as you stick to it. In time, those 30 minutes will add up and you will achieve your goals.
Don’t make yearly goals
Yearly goals work for some people, but not most. It’s easier to push off yearly goals because you, in theory, have the entire year to achieve them.
However, if you stick to weekly, monthly, or even quarterly goals, your sense of urgency goes up and your goals are on your mind because you have less time to achieve them. With that said, you don’t want your goals taking over your life and causing more stress, which is why you should set SMART goals that are achievable and will push your life in the right direction when achieved.
Annual goals are OK as long as you set smaller goals that revolve around them along the way. For example, you want to make $80,000 this year but you break that down to what you need to make per month and quarter.
The point? Don’t solely focus on a goal you have an entire year to achieve. Focus on smaller goals that will keep the momentum going as you achieve them as well as keep you on the path of a large goal since you’re focusing on it year-round.
Take advantage of downtime
If you’re constantly focused on work, whether it’s for pleasure or your job, then you will burn out in no time and likely revert back to old habits. Downtime is essential and it will help you get out of your head and allow you to focus on the simplicities in life, like the things that aren’t related to work.
If you don’t take days off or have downtime in your workweek, then two things are going into motion: (1) you’re not enjoying your everyday life, which is important since we spend the most amount of time there, and (2) you’re overworking yourself which could lead to burnout and bad work.
We live in a day and age in which hustle is viewed as a good thing, but even the brightest minds take time off to refresh.
Reflect more than once a year
Whether you own a dance center in Lawrenceville, NJ or are a remote writer traveling across Europe, you should reflect more than once a year.
Reflection will allow you to monitor your process, which can help you eliminate what’s not working on a routine basis as opposed to once a year around New Year’s Eve. Reflecting is also motivating because it shows you how far along you have come and how your hard work is paying off.
It can, in every way imaginable, help you keep the momentum going well into the new year.
