How to stick to your New Years resolution

What makes one person able to follow through on a resolution, may also ensure that another does not. Entrepreneurs are renowned for goal setting and many do so with much success. Like their sporting counterparts, the same human behaviour around goal setting that sports stars have, tend to be similiar to those of an entrepreneur and vice-versa. 

There are sure-fire ways in which an individual can be better equipped to realizing their resolutions and that's committing to behavioural change.

Like brushing your teeth each morning, which no-one needs reminding of, our behavioural pattern can lead to us sticking to a resolution.

Understand your habits 

My habit is to wake up, shower, take the dog to do its "business" and get dressed for work. Once dressed, I hop in my car, drive to a local cafe and order a coffee and breakfast in which I take to the office and commence my work day.

I know for a fact that I do this every day, 7 days a week. But what if I want to add exercise to this equation? I need to add it to the same habit. Wake up, brush teeth, take dog downstairs, exercise, shower, get dressed, pick up coffee and breakfast, go to work. 

Understand your obstacles

The big issue with changing this habit is time. By going to exercise I am adding time to my morning routine. To not drop "exercise" I need to add 30 minutes to my morning routine by either starting 30 minutes earlier or commencing my day 30 minutes later. The issue is that while it might work for a few days, I know that this will become an issue with my international conference calls and in no time, "exercise" in the morning will be dropped.

The choice is to add "exercise" to my lunchtime routine or quite simply, wake up 30 minutes earlier. This may be my obstacle with exercise in the morning, but I'm sure you get the drift. Whatever your goal is, you need to not only understand the challenges but work through all the reason why it may create challenges. 

Have a plan

I'm in the business of marketing strategies and marketing plans, so having a plan is second nature. I know that by writing it down, I am significantly more likely to achieve whatever goals I have set out in front of me. If I have to tick it off, that increases my chances of executing on my plan ten-fold. There are apps for this which are quite useful or you can just use a diary like I do. When developing your plan, make sure it is detailed. 

For instance; when I add exercise to my morning routine, I write down what type of exercise, for how long and the desired outcomes or KPI's. If your goal is to "travel more" you would write down where, when, how, why and the outcomes.

Partner-Up

If you have a goal, you are more likely to achieve it if you have a partner in crime. Exercise is easy to have a partner, but if it is a business goal, its a little harder. Hire a business coach, share your goal with a mentor, join a business group like Entrepreneurs Organisation or ask a key staff member to help you stay accountable.

The reality of goals and New Years Resolutions is that they need nurturing, commitment and planning. There needs to be a real reason as to why you want to achieve your goal. A new year is a fresh start, and having the 'fresh start effect' is the best possible way to get started. Know that slip ups will happen, but it's how fast you get back on the bike that counts.