Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Do you write them down? It is a question that either has people rolling they eyes or lighting up. There is no right or wrong reactions or thoughts.

I fall in the camp of absolutely loving to write down my resolutions.

Any kind of fresh start gets me going (I actually feel the same way each September too).  I have however learned a few things along the way: working out seven days a week is likely not sustainable ;). Making so many resolutions that I can’t remember them also doesn’t work.

For me, the years that I make a practice of writing down my goals, they seem to be more focused.  Science agrees with this fact. It turns out only 8% of people write down their goals for the year and by writing them down it helps our brain to “encode the process” and there is a greater chance of them being remembered and acted on.

If you write down your goal or resolution you have a 95% higher chance of achieving them. Why is that?

  1. Written goals bring you clarity and focus.
  2. They keep you on track.
  3. You become more motivated to take action.
  4. You are focused on what is important to you – answering the “why” you want to achieve this goal is key.

A few other key tips on goal setting or resolution making:

  1. Vividly describe your goals and picture them. Use a vision board, draw, doodle clip from magazines, any kind of visual commitment works.
  2. Write down your goals each week in your day planner or on your electronic calendar. It sounds labour intensive but this takes less than five minutes. Are your goals worth five minutes a week? If you really want to up the ante for achieving your goals say them out loud as you write them.
  3. Hold yourself accountable – there are many apps to help you do this. I love https://www.futureme.org as there is something about getting my own words back to me in my own inbox that kind of freaks me out – in a really good way! Sometimes I am “wiser” than I think and sometimes not so much, lol! But it really does focus me.
  4. Make your goals sustainable and ensure they reflect your own reality, and define what your reality is.
  5. Break your goals into small achievable bite size pieces that are date sensitive.
  6. Gratitude can also be a difference maker. Being thankful improves your patience and lowers stress all of which can prevent us from reaching our goals.

The greatest resolution I made that I will be making again this year (it’s okay to repeat your resolutions) is to erase from my lexicon the expression “where does the time go”.  I want to know where the time goes! After all it is my time! I want to say “Hey, you know what January, yes, I know exactly what I did with you. I did not misplace you like a lost toque. I spent you. I totally used you up, no judgements on how you spent it, just know that you spent it. That feels empowering to me.

Are you ready to put your 2019 on paper?