The New Year has come and gone; and we are already heading towards the end of the first month of the year. For many this might be the time to look despairingly at those new year resolutions and prepare to throw them in the bin, convinced that 2017 will be a rehash of 2016. But that does not need to be your reality. The trick here is to understand that your resolutions list is just a guideline. It has to provide you with a roadmap and it’s work is done. But yours is only beginning.
So how to make 2017 your Best Year yet?
The Dump
Begin with your resolution list. Read all the items you have put down. Have a think-through about why you have written them down and jot down the exact results you expect. Now along with this, write down any other changes you want to see in your life or goals you wanted to set but didn’t, thinking they are too ambitious. This list should include items relating to your personal as well as professional lives. It can have a ‘Quit Smoking’, ‘Travel more’ as well as ‘Nail 5 new clients’.
Treat this like a brainstorming session – note everything that comes to your mind that you want to change, improve or include in your life.
The Sorting
The next step is to sort through the list and organise it. You can club things together under different headings like Personal / Relationship / Family / Work or make up your own. Make sure you start listing tasks. Vague listings like the ‘Travel more’ goal should by now be crystallized into specific action events like ‘7 day trip to Leh’ – this will help you to identify precise steps that you need to take to make it happen.
If there is something you have been struggling to achieve for many years, list down the reasons why you think you have not been able to do that thing. Then identify what needs to happen to change this. For ex – If you have not been able to quit smoking, it might be because you are constantly surrounded by friends/colleagues who smoke. You now know you need to reduce your contact with them when they are smoking. List talking to them to explain why you need to do so as a task. It could be that they also are struggling to quit, so give yourself the goal of starting a support group where you can help each other quit.
Don’t worry if things look daunting at this point. Sort the list according to when you want these things done. Space them out over the entire year. Trying to do too many things at the same time can make it difficult to see results, and not seeing quick results is the number one reason for quitting.
The Game-Plan
Now that your list has been spread out over the year, start looking at it in 3 month chunks. You will now know what you need to do/achieve in the coming 3 months. Break this down further into tasks that you need to finish on a daily and weekly basis to be able to complete your 3 month goals. Make sure you give yourself time for reflection and re-adjusting your list as needed.
Now you will have a series of small steps which will be easy to take and will slowly but surely reach you to your destination by the end of the year. And before you know it 2017 will be your best year yet!
Or can end with ‘And before you know it, 2017 will be the year you rocked!’ – if the phrasing is acceptable to the client.
