Happy New Year everyone!
I always found the idea of New Year’s Resolutions to be kind of gimmicky. Everyone always makes the same ones: “lose weight” or “get in shape” or “write a novel”. Something vague like that.
They sound great when you make them, but look at those goals again. None of them actually have criteria, or mile-markers, or concrete motivation. They’re just never going to happen.
Or else your Resolution might be, “I’m going to wake up two hours earlier every day, and go to the gym and work out for an hour before work, starting January 1!”
Yeah, that’s concrete, but it’s a lot! You’re likely to burn out within two weeks. If you were already the kind of person who could get up two hours early to work out, you’d probably already be doing that. You’ve got to work up to it.
I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions.
For several years now, I’ve been focusing on a New Month’s Resolution instead.
I started this strategy with the goal to knock out some of those small projects that start to feel big because you’ve been putting them off for so long. I made a resolution to finally make that phone call, or set up that bank account, or tidy that one closet.
It worked! Just one goal at a time, and one month. The stakes are low if it doesn’t work: just try again or pick something new in 30 days. But if you do succeed, you’ve gotten something major off your back, or formed a new habit!
The key is to make SMART goals.
None of these vague, lofty visions.
The acronym S.M.A.R.T. was coined by George T. Doran in 1981, and has morphed a bit over the years (see the Wikipedia article here) but it’s basically a way to evaluate your goals to ensure they’re in a format you’ll actually be able to accomplish.
S
Specific: You have to know the rules to win the game. Don’t say, “I’m going to write that novel” but instead say, “I’m going to write a 75,000-word manuscript by the end of the summer.”
M
Measurable: You should have mile-markers along the way to tell you your progress. “I’m going to write 2,000 words per day, and track them in this graph in my BuJo.”
A
cheivable: Don’t set a goal to do 10 pull-ups a day if you can’t even do one, start with a goal to do one pull-up by the end of the month. Go from there. Make it challenging, but doable.
R
Realistic: What are the hurdles for this goal. Is this something I can do right now, or should it wait another month?
or
Relevant: Does it fit the vision of the life I want to live right now?
T
Time-bound: If you don’t give yourself a deadline, you’ll always be able to put it off until tomorrow. If you’ve paid attention to the other criteria, a deadline will feel like a tool rather than a punishment.
So... This year I'm setting myself a New Year's Resolution to get fit.
I know, I know, it sounds like I’m directly contradicting every piece of advice I’ve given so far, but here’s how I’m going to do it:
I’m one of those annoying people with a naturally high metabolism, and I’ve never once had to worry about my weight or consider dieting. But this year, I turned 31, and immediately started to realize that I wasn’t eating well, and that it was making me feel crummy. I realized I had actually gained ten pounds from my usual weight, which is actually where I would ideally love to be, except that it’s all in my tummy, and since I never exercise, none of it is muscle. I’ve always avoided exertion like the plague, so I have no endurance, but I need to start now, and start slowly. That’s where I am right now.
I have the one overarching (and vague) goal for the year, but I’m setting myself SMART goals for each month, one at a time.
January’s goal is this: I will do ten crunches per day this month.
That’s it. It’s very achievable, obviously measurable, and deliberately time-bound. At the end of the month, I’ll look at my progress and make a new goal for the next month. Maybe it will be 20 crunches, or maybe it will be something completely different as new priorities arise.
I’m using this undated yearly foldout from the Peanuts Planner Co Undated Yearly Bundle and tracking with the “Don’t Break the Chain” method.
I’m giving myself grace to fall short, but also something achievable to reach for. Something I can feel proud of accomplishing. That’s the beauty of SMART goals.
Wish me luck! I’ll keep you posted on my progress throughout the year.
