Planning your new year goals

Make 2021 your best year yet with some good planning. But don’t wait until New Year’s Eve to do your goals for next year. Our very own Gill Donnell explains why…

Planning – you either love it or hate it, but as we approach another year, many of us are making plans for how 2021 is going to be so very different from this year. Given what has happened across the globe in 2020,

I’m guessing more than ever before we’ll be wishing for better things!

Of course, 31st December is a very typical time to set big goals, but I’m not actually a fan of decision making on or around New Year’s Eve. Here are some of my reasons why New Year’s Resolutions don’t make for good goals, and how to set achievable plans.

1. On NYE you’re much more likely to focus on resolutions relating to what’s on your mind at the time. (Giving up drinking and eating usually tops the list, although obviously not to the point of dehydration and starvation.) In reality, you’re more likely to be successful in goal setting by planning ahead.

2. Giving yourself decent planning time allows you to properly reflect on what you want to achieve in the coming weeks/months/year and not knee-jerk into what seemed a good idea at the time and probably requires loads of disposable income/free time/willpower to succeed.

3. The happy (drunken) fog of New Year resoluting (Or is it resolutioning? Where is Stephen Fry when you need him?) usually results in multiple promises to yourself to start over, but one resolution or goal brings a greater chance of success. Channeling your energy and determination into changing just one aspect of your behaviour makes success far more achievable.

4. Tell the world – according to research, this is especially effective for women. Not actually the world, but friends and family can offer support and hold you accountable. An accountability buddy is proven to help significantly keep you on the straight and narrow.

5. Have sub-goals, small interim steps that you can reach, achieve and reward yourself for. Celebrate those successes, but within your goal – no bottles of Prosecco for resisting alcohol!

6. Keep a record of your plans, as well as your progress. I love beautiful notebooks and journals for this, but a goal tracker/workbook specifically designed for this is great.

7. Try to avoid re-hashing previous resolutions that have ended in failure. Use different words to express what you want and especially keep away from huge unrealistic challenges like losing three stone in three months.

8. Accept that you’ll have setbacks; creating new behaviours takes time (about 90 days is the suggested optimum), but don’t use them as an excuse to give up. It happens to all of us; just get back on the horse and carry on – swiftly followed by a reward for not giving up!

We will be starting a 30-day and 90-day challenge in the new year, so make sure you’re following our social media @swibtribe, to join us in making 2021 your best year yet.

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