How to make resolutions that you'll actually stick to

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The New Year is a great time to think about making some changes to your blog or website.  Unfortunately, I often hear about people who make highly ambitious resolutions and just don't do them.

Don't let this happen to you.  Here's how to make resolutions that you'll actually stick to.

Use SMART objectives.

A few days ago, I suggested that you should be SMART with your New Year Resolutions.  I think this is the most important thing to be aware of if you're hoping to make the most of your site in the New Year.

If you set objectives that are too vague, too easy or too difficult, you may find that frustration gets the better of you.  Worst case, you might think about closing your site.  Don't close the site for not setting realistic objectives!  Spend some time making your objectives clear and achievable.

Don't make resolutions for the whole year.

I think that New Year resolutions are often broken because people forget that a year is a long time.  The years may seem to pass quickly, but a year is a long time, especially in the world of the Internet.  Things move fast.  You might find that new sites come up while others die away.  A lot can happen in one year.

Don't just make your objectives realistic - protect them from unexpected events or changes in the way you run your site.  The New Year is a good time to set some objectives, but try to resist the temptation to set objectives that will run for the entire year.  Set them to run for a month or two so you can review your progress and make changes if you're not doing as well as you'd hoped, or if you're doing better than expected.

Set target dates.

For smaller resolutions, you can just set a date for when you'd like to complete a particular task.  Larger resolutions can be broken down into smaller parts with "milestones" for each stage of the process.

Review your progress before you miss your target date.

It's not much good to make resolutions if you forget about them and don't review them.  This is a lot worse with year-long resolutions.  What seems to happen is that people forget about their resolutions in February or March, then it takes them until December to realise that they failed miserably.  Strangely, they vow to do better the following year.  It's a pointless and pretty depressing cycle to be honest.

So, if you've set yourself a task that you want to complete by the end of January, review it every week.  Set a day when you'll review it - say every Friday - and spend a bit of time looking at your progress on that day.  What have you done?  What haven't you done?  What could help you complete the task on time?

Get a friend to help.

See if you can find another blogger who you can talk to about your progress.  If they have objectives, listen to their progress too.  Involving another person means you are less likely to let yourself get away with not doing the things you want to achieve.

Don't give up if you miss a date.

If you think you're going to miss a date, first ask why you might not hit the original date, then ask whether you could hit the date if you had an extra week.  Don't worry if you miss a date if you can set a more realistic date in future - but on the other hand, don't keep giving yourself extra weeks for things you're never going to complete.

If you're really worried - start small.

There is no point setting yourself loads of objectives and missing most or all of them.  Setting more than you'll be able to achieve doesn't work for everyone - I think it's better to start small and work up.

If you're not sure how much you can do in a week or a month, or other commitments might get in the way (assuming you're not just making excuses), start out by giving yourself just one small objective.  See how that goes, then set your next objective.

Soon, you'll get used to it, and you'll be able to set yourself bigger tasks and have more of them to do at a time.  Then again, you might be someone who only wants to do one thing at a time.  It's up to you to find the balance that works for you.

Tell me what you think.

Do you have objectives for January or resolutions for 2008?
How do you approach resolutions?  Do you stick to them?
Has this blog entry helped you at all?

Have a great New Year's Eve, and I'll see you in 2008!

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