Hello guys!
Isn’t it crazy how fast this year has gone by? So, since New Year’s Eve is approaching, I’d like to give you all some tips on how to create resolutions that you will actually follow through with.
Tip 1: Make SMART Goals
I remember when I first learned how to create effective goals from my College and Life Skills class. The most important lesson that we learned that day was to make sure that our goals were SMART because if we didn’t, we would decrease our chances of reaching them.
So, when I recently read a post from Nathalia’s site, I was really inspired and decided to write about how to create these goals for the new year (because ALL goals should be SMART).
What Are SMART Goals?
SMART stand for:
- Specific (the goal is clear)
- Measurable (you have a way to measure your progress to your goal)
- Achievable (you can accomplish the goal)
- Realistic (the goal is plausible)
- Timely (the goal has a timeline)
*Source: CFI
For instance, a SMART goal for a 20 year old working a minimum wage, full-time job might be:
By December 20XX, I will save $2000 for a vacation.
Is the goal specific? Yes, because it shows how much they are planning to save and what they are hoping to use the money on.
Is it measurable? It is! They will measure how close they are to reaching their goal by how much money they having in their savings.
Is the goal achievable? Yes, even though they are earning minimum wage, they should still be able to save up enough money for their vacation (without it affecting their lifestyle too much).
Is it realistic? Saving $2000 in one year is a completely realistic goal.
Is it timely? Yep! They know exactly when they should have all of their money saved.
Tip 2: Use Short-term and Long-term Goals
Another important tip to making goals for the New Year is to create long-term AND short-term goals.
In a traditional sense, long-term goals are usually 3+ years in the future and short-term goals are set less than 3 years in the future, but we’re going to be looking at it a little differently. We’re going to use the ‘short-term’ goal to accomplish the ‘long-term’ goal.
For instance, let’s use the sample goal from above:
By December 20XX, I will save $2000 for a vacation.
This would be the long-term goal. However, they can make their goal more achievable by stating how much they will save each month towards it. So, their short-term goal might be:
I will save $167 every month.
And by having this goal, they will eventually have enough money for their vacation and fulfill their long-term goal for the year.
So, this shows that having smaller goals will create steps to reach your ultimate objective.
Tip 3: Schedule Time To Reach Your Goals
Another tip that I would recommend when creating a goal is to make time to do whatever you are trying to accomplish. This can be done by adding it to your calendar, creating an alarm for it, or even just setting aside 10 to 15 minutes each day to work on it.
And the greatest benefit is that having this time scheduled allows you to actively pursue your goal and create a new habit!
Tip 4: Create Accountability
A bonus tip that I think everyone should try when they’re making goals is to create accountability. And you can do that in a number of ways. You can:
- Get an accountability partner
- Tell your family/friends
- Get a coach/mentor
- Put it on social media
Creating accountability is a great thing to do because it showcases that others are also invested in your goals and it helps to further motivate you to reach them.
Hopefully, you enjoyed learning about how to create acheivable goals this year!
Happy New Year’s!
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Hannah Roberts is the creator of Do. Live. Study. She loves to learn new things and hopes to help others as they go throughout their journey as an adult. You can connect with her below.
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