After the holidays many people begin to start thinking about the New Year’s resolutions or goals they’d like to accomplish in the upcoming year. Setting goals is one thing, but sticking to them with the hustle and bustle of everyday life is another. No matter what your goal involves, it’s important to have strategies ready that will help you stick to your goals.

Below are some practical tips to help you stay on track with your goals this year. 

1. Be specific

Before you can make a plan, you need to understand what you’re trying to accomplish. Goals that are too vague or unrealistic create more of a challenge. By setting clear, specific goals you will not only have a good idea of what you’re trying to achieve, but you’ll be able to stop and assess your progress along the way. One way to do this is to use the SMART goals strategy. Goals like, “getting in shape” are vague and difficult to assess. Using the SMART goals strategy turns this goal into this: 

• Specific: “I will walk for 30 minutes for 30 days.” 
• Measurable: “I will track my walks on my calendar.”
• Achievable: “I will start with walking videos in the winter and begin walking outside in the spring.” 
• Relevant: “Daily walks keep my body healthy.” 
• Time-Bound: “I will do this for 30 days straight.” 

Using clear, specific goals helps you form a more solid plan. 

2. Celebrate milestones

Very large, long term goals can feel overwhelming and lead to burnout. Take your larger goals and find smaller achievements that you can achieve along the way. Setting short term goals as milestones can make the process feel more manageable and less stressful. For example, if your goal is to “get out of debt” then you’ll want to focus on milestones such as: 

• Creating a budget
• Tracking your spending
• Building an emergency fund

Setting short term goals will help you stay motivated and feel a steady sense of accomplishment along the way. 

3. Stay consistent with a plan

Consistency is key when it comes to reaching your goals. You will want to create a routine that will make the process more natural and lower the need for you to constantly think about what to do next. If your goal is to walk 30 minutes a day then you’ll want to make this a seamless part of your daily routine. Start by setting a specific time for you to go for a walk each day. Making this part of your daily life will help things seem effortless. 

4. Track your progress

Tracking your progress will keep you motivated and help you see how far you’ve come. When you feel like you’re not making any progress, you may be surprised to look at your progress tracker and see what all you’ve accomplished. This might just be the motivation boost that you need. Trackers can also provide you with information to help you make adjustments along the way if you do face a setback. There are many ways to track your progress including apps, spreadsheets, journals, pictures, or a simple checklist. Decide what will be the easiest and most effective way for you to track your progress.

5. Be Flexible 

While consistency is important, we never know what life will throw our way. It’s also important to stay flexible through the process. In the event of an unexpected change (a change in income, a new work schedule, or a new opportunity), you’ll need to be able to adapt your routine to meet your current needs. For example, if your new work schedule overlaps with the time that you usually exercise, you will need to adjust the timing of your workouts to align with your new schedule. Adapting your plan to meet your current circumstances will help you continue making progress. 

6. Remember your ‘why’

It’s very likely that you will come across challenges on your way to your goal. When life changes occur or things do not go as planned, you will need to remind yourself why you started and how far you have come. This is where your tracker may come in handy. It shows all of the progress you’ve made and how far you have come since day one. Consider finding a place to keep a “why statement.” This can be either a phrase or a sentence that explains your motivation for setting this goal. 

 7. Setbacks = Learning Opportunities

When you face setbacks, remember to have grace with yourself and use positive self talk and a constructive mindset to manage the situation. A setback doesn’t mean that you have failed and need to give up or start over. It just means that there was something to learn. Stop and reflect when you face a challenge. 

When facing a setback, stop and ask yourself: 

• What went wrong? 
• What did I learn about myself or this situation?
• What can I do differently moving forward? 

Rather than focusing on what went wrong, focus on the new things you’ve learned about yourself or this experience. Use this information to adapt and fuel your journey forward. 

After the initial burst of motivation wears off, sticking to your goals will require flexibility, resilience, consistency, and grace. Establishing short term goals, a solid plan, and a consistent routine can help you turn long term goals into accomplishments. Stay flexible along the way and remember that setbacks are simply learning opportunities. Don’t forget to celebrate even the smallest victories. 

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