January is coming to a close. It’s common for people to start out their new year resolutions strong and experience a decline in motivation after breaking in the new year a little bit. 

When this happens, you set yourself up for disappointment over not meeting your goals or resolutions for the year, and December 31, 2021 will just be a reminder of that. Some goals might take longer than others so no need to beat yourself up over it, but you can control the work you put into your resolutions this year.

How can you stay motivated to follow through with your new year resolutions?

We’ve got some starting steps to share with you!

How To Follow Through With Your New Year Resolutions

1. Break your resolution up into micro-goals that you assign to each quarter of the year.

Another reason why many fail to meet their new year resolutions is that they only focused on the end goal rather than the steps to successfully accomplish the resolution. Pull out your planner or calendar and assign micro-goals relevant to the new year resolution to each quarter of the year. 

For example, if your new year resolution is fitness and health-related, the first quarter of the year could be focused on clean eating. The next quarter could have a number goal for how many steps you want to accomplish by the end of that quarter. 

If your new year resolution is something like quitting smoking where you don’t think micro-goals can be assigned (since its the act of quitting), try this approach: Give yourself a new project to focus on each quarter to replace where cigarettes live in your mind rent-free and also use a self-accountability tool like the Habit Tracker Notebook.

2. Create a visual representation of your resolutions with a vision board.

Having a vision board readily available to you is the visual inspiration you need to keep your motivation in the right direction. These vision boards don’t have to be made public or put on display. Spend a few minutes or half an hour each day with your vision board, visualizing the goal you’re aiming to manifest and achieve.

3. Create deadlines for yourself based on your quarterly goals for your new year resolution.

This ties into the first tip! Setting deadlines for yourself makes it easier to follow through. If a micro-goal or task doesn’t have a deadline, there’s risk of you saying, “Oh...I can wait and do that tomorrow.” 

Break that cycle and don’t let your goals slip out of view!

4. Don’t burn yourself out.

Yes, put the work in. No, don’t burn yourself out. The “burnout” happens when you don’t listen to the needs of your body and mental/emotional health. When you push yourself too long and too far, your health will strain and your immune system will drop a bit, and that’s a setback on your timeline to achieve your new year resolution. Find your balance with a self care plan.

5. Find and match up with an accountability partner.

Some people work better when they know others are watching. You’ll notice people posting updates on their progress for - whatever their resolution is - and wonder why. Dial back the criticism. This is a form of self-accountability but it’s not for everyone; those who don’t want to put their goals on display. For those who are private but need to hold themselves accountable somehow, talk it out with your friends to see if they have similar goals. From there, check-in with each other daily, weekly, or monthly. 

If you want to keep up to date with the latest blog posts, make sure you’re subscribed to our newsletter: CLICK HERE NOW.