The holiday season may just be starting, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start planning about your New Year resolutions. If you want to be successful in 2019 with your goals, start planning your strategy now. Resolutions that are started last minute typically don’t end well – if you don’t have reasonable goals set in place and a plan to follow, you’re more likely to drop your resolution before spring.

Take the time now to start thinking about what it is you want to achieve in the new year. Is it an organized home? A more active lifestyle? Whatever it may be, use the tips below to start creating a plan you are sure to succeed at.

Think through your resolutions

Before you can start a plan of action, you need to think hard about what resolutions you want to set for yourself. Your resolutions need to be something that you really want to achieve, something that you are willing to accomplish or change about yourself, and something that you are actually capable of achieving. If you already know you have a busy year ahead, maybe there are some resolutions that won’t realistically work, like finding the time to exercise more. However, there may be big life events happening that fit in with your resolutions – like getting organized to prepare for moving to a new home. The key to your success is you, and depending on your resolutions, the people around you. Consider whether or not your resolutions are really what you want and what will work with your lifestyle before you start planning how you will accomplish them in the new year.

Start small and make your resolutions manageable

It’s important to make sure your resolutions are reasonable. Keep in mind that you won’t be able to achieve all that you want to do within the first couple of months of the new year. Start small, and work from there. If you set yourself up with high expectations or difficult tasks at the beginning, you may get discouraged and abandon your resolutions. This is why planning for your resolutions ahead of time is important. For example, if you want to organize your home, you can’t organize your entire house, or even an entire room in the first week of January. Getting organized can be a stressful and lengthy process that requires patience and dedication in order to maintain long-term. Instead, start your plan with small tasks, like focusing your organizing efforts on one item in one area of your home, like books in your living room or linens in your linen closet. This is an easy and manageable task that can be a stepping stone to larger projects once your momentum grows. As the months go on, you may find yourself with the time and motivation to tackle a room like your kitchen or bedroom once you’ve found success with other smaller projects.

Set reasonable goals and targets

 A resolution for the new year is exactly that: for the whole year. When you’re planning, make sure you take the time to assign yourself goals and targets throughout the year, and be reasonable about it. Keep the end goal in sight at all times and set benchmarks along the way to keep on track and boost confidence. Setting benchmarks along the way can help you check in with your progress and make sure you are sticking to your plan. Remember to be reasonable, and know you aren’t likely to see results right away. Your resolution will take time to achieve, so be patient and don’t give up.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Sometimes it’s helpful to get a bit of help along the way. For example, maybe organizing is becoming overwhelming – don’t be afraid to reach out and get help. If you’re trying to stay active, join a fitness class or get a work-out buddy to go on runs or walks with you. Your environment greatly impacts your success, so make sure the people around you are on board with your resolution. If you want to get your space organized, you won’t be able to achieve it if your family or roommates keep adding clutter or don’t properly store items. Depending on your resolution, it may be important to get help from professionals or the people around you.

Stay positive throughout the process

 As mentioned earlier, the success of your resolutions depends on your motivation to achieve them. If you become disheartened or lose enthusiasm, it will be much harder for you to continue your action plan. Stay positive, and remember that even if you have a setback, it isn’t the end. You have a plan, it’s thought out, and you can achieve it. This is a resolution for the year, not the month of January. It may seem like a long and daunting process, but it can be done. Keep the big picture in mind to keep your motivation but work on each target at a time so you don’t get lost or fall behind. Remember what motivated you to start in the first place and hold onto it. It may help to write it down when you’re planning your resolutions as a reminder for when things get hard or you lose motivation.

Whatever you set out for yourself to achieve in 2019 can be accomplished if you take the time to plan and think through your resolutions. Before the busy holiday season begins, reflect on what it is you want to do in the new year, and who you want to be, so you can have a solid plan to follow when January comes.