As the new year comes, many people look to setting new years resolutions to make changes in their life. Almost of a third of people who make resolutions do so about weight. Over 40% of people make resolutions about money. Source

However within a month, almost half of the people will have given up on their new years resolution.

How can you improve your chances of succeeding at your new years resolution? Well, you improve the process by how you handle changes and set goals. The process for sticking with your resolution will work for dealing with work/school projects and other goals you’ll have to deal with in the future.

Make list manageable

Don’t go overboard with a bunch of resolutions. Instead select one or two that you feel strongly about. I’ve known people who make 10 resolutions, hoping that one or two will stick, but instead you are less likely to succeed. By focusing your efforts on one or two, you improve your chances of success.

Be specific

One of the biggest reasons for failure is setting a goal which poorly defined. The problem is they rarely seem poorly defined when we start.

“Getting healthy”, “Losing weight”, and “Getting in better at money” are all good starts, but they are hard to reach, because you never know when you are in better shape, lost enough weight, and are good enough at money. You can always get a little better, and therefore will give up as you’ll feel you can never reach that final goal.

Instead, be specific, using the SMART method: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.

Specific and Measurable often go hand in hand. “I want to lose my freshmen 10 I added.”, “I want to be able to bench press my body weight”, or “I want to pay off my Visa card”. Each of these is a specific and measurable goal.

Losing 10 pounds is easy to measure. You simply need a scale, and you can watch the weight go down as you make progress. A lot of time people don’t like working with numbers, but it really is important.

But make sure, any number you pick, is achievable, i.e. realistic. This often needs to go hand in hand with time-bound. If you’ve never lifted weights, saying you want to bench press 500 pounds, is not a realistic goal, especially if you want to do it within the year.

Instead, set a reasonable goal, that you can work toward. I like to set goals that are 3 to 6 months out. This way I can’t procrastinate, but I’m not going mad in setting it. It is achievable. You may need help in finding out what is achievable, especially if its something new. For example, if you want to pay off your Visa card, but you are used to living off of it, and only paying the minimums, paying it off may not be the most achievable goal. However, paying down a part of it might be. Check with friends, research on-line, or seek professional help if you want to make a big change.

Finally, pick a goal that is relevant. This is something that means something to you. Something you care about, is something you will stick with better than something that is arbitrary that you do because you think you need to, or you are pressured by someone else.

Make a plan

As the old saying goes, “People don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.” It may be cliché, but it’s true. So break down your resolution into smaller goals, keeping in mind the SMART method.

Let’s say you want to get in shape, and lose 10 pounds. You’ve identified your big goal, but how are you going to make it. By setting smaller goals, you see yourself working toward the bigger goal. For example, you might specify that one week 1, you will sign up for the gym, and by week 2, you will be visiting said gym Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 30 minutes. Week 3, you decide that your normal snack break you take at 3 PM, can be replaced with dry roasted nuts and a bottle of water instead of a candy bar and soft drink.

Each of the little steps is something that is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. Using a calendar, or calendar software helps. I set up alerts within my Google Calendar to remind myself of when to drink my water, to help me stay on track – even now, after setting the goal several years ago.

Automate where possible

Using a calendar software, or your smart phone’s alarm is a great way to help make sure you are reminded. If you can automate the process, that much better. For example, if one of your goals is to save $1,000 this year for an emergency fund, you can determine how much you need to save each month, and have it automatically transferred to a separate account.

Join a group

It’s sad, but friends and family may not always be supportive. So find people who are. Whether it is an on-line group, or a local group. Studies repeatedly show that going to the gym with a friend increases the chances of you continuing. Likewise, if you have people who encourage you to save money, eat healthy, etc. you are more likely to do so.

Recover from mistakes

Changing a habit is hard. We never said it would be easy. And it’s not uncommon to miss a day going to the gym, forget to drink that extra glass of water, or have that impulse buy. Don’t beat yourself up over it.

Instead, realize it is a mistake, and move on. Learning to deal with small set backs is a big part of life. So pick yourself up, and work on your goal tomorrow, like today didn’t happen.