I love January. It’s that wonderful time of year when everyone (ok, most people) are excited about the prospects of the year ahead.
It’s a blank slate. A time when people set goals, make resolutions, and plan to make this year bigger and better than the last.
And I think that’s awesome.
BUT (come on, you know my posts always have a “but” )
There are varying statistics around, but none of them look great.
Sites show that as little as 9.2% of people achieve their New Years Resolution in a given year, and as many as 80% have already failed by the 2nd week of February
So, how can you be different?
There are some things you can do to increase your rate of success for the year ahead.
1. Set really clear and specific goals.
Not just sweeping statements, but really clear, specific outcomes.
For example: Rather than “blog more”
Work out how often you want to blog. Do you want to post once a day, once a week, once a month? What does “more” mean to you? What does being successful at blogging more look like to you?
The same applies if you’ve said you want to be more consistent on social media, network more, or even be more productive… What do any of those even mean?
Set a clear, specific, measurable goal… so that you know what you are aiming for, and what you need to do to achieve it.
2. Be realistic.
I’m not talking about limiting yourself, you can definitely set goals which stretch you… but I see so many people fail (and then be harsh and disappointed with themselves) simply because what they expected of themselves was unrealistic.
For example:
If you new years resolution is to eat healthy every single day… then you’ll feel disappointed in yourself if you have one day when you slip up. One single day when you enjoy coffee and a cake with a friend will cause you to “fail”.
You were setting yourself up to fail from the beginning
Another example:
I often see people say “My goal is to blog every week” when they currently aren’t blogging at all, or are maybe putting a sporadic post up once every month or so.
Weekly is a great if it suits you and your audience, but it’s a big commitment to move to weekly from “rarely”
Would 2 a month suit you better to start with? What about over the Christmas period or when you get busy? Do you still want to be posting weekly?
Weekly is 52 blog posts in a year… do you want to write 52 posts this year?
So, think about what your current reality is when setting your new goals.
Sure, stretch yourself. Push yourself to be better.
But don’t set yourself up for failure from the beginning.
3. Find a structure or strategy that works for you.
All the most successful people get up at 5am to start working… right?
Not necessarily.
5am might be great for some, but really might not work for you.
And that’s fine.
Rather than trying to force yourself into someone elses box for the year… look at your current patterns and find what works for you.
I’m all about making things as easy as possible. Life is hard enough as it is.
If it is easy for you to stay up for an hour or two on the laptop once the kids have gone to bed, then use that time. (I crash and burn in the afternoon, that is definitely not my time)
You can chastise yourself all you like because you think you “should” be a morning person…. Or you can drop the guilt, embrace what is already working for you, and use the time you do have to get things done.
4. Find your Support Crew
You don’t have to do this alone.
They say it take a village to raise a child, but I swear it takes a fricken city to raise a business.
Find people who are on your side. Your cheerleaders.
People who will answer your questions. People who will happy dance with you to celebrate your wins. And people who will give you a shoulder to cry on, and commiserate your losses.
For you, that might be a Facebook group, a mastermind group, a coach or mentor… or simply just friends and family who “get it”.
(Or maybe our Support Crew is the perfect place for you. Check out all the details and see what you think.)
5. Toot your own horn
Be proud. Celebrate your successes. Keep track of your wins. Keep a happy folder full of testimonials, nice things people say about you on social media etc.
Because you are awesome. You deserve to celebrate.
So often, we spend our time being hard on ourselves. Wishing we were more organised, more productive, more…. well, more everything really.
So this year, rather than being hard on yourself, make sure you take time to celebrate the wins you do have.
Because every small step you take is one step closer to your goal.
To Wrap this up…
You’ve got this.
Don’t just be a statistic this year.
Set those goals, make those resolutions… and smash them.
I believe in you
Sam