Plan your new year resolutions!

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.

Resolutions 2017 – How to eat healthier

Living healthier involves incorporating healthier foods into your diet, which can be difficult for people who may live busy lives or may not have the experience of cooking with fresh produce. To achieve this resolution, planning is key, and the most effective way to do this is by making healthy eating a seamless part of your everyday life.

Start your planning each week or whenever you go grocery shopping, and determine what you’re going to eat for that period. Make a list of what fresh produce and other items you’ll need by looking up recipes and creating a week-long meal plan. Purchase the ingredients that you need, and prep them for meals beforehand. Wash and chop up vegetables and store them in containers where they are ready to go. Make soup and freeze it in individual containers. If you have leftovers, freeze them in freezer-safe containers, or save them in your refrigerator for lunch or a leftover dinner night.

Eating healthy can become difficult when you’re eating out, whether it’s at a restaurant or a friend/relative’s home. When you’re eating out, avoid fast food restaurants, and consider healthier on the go alternatives, like a pre-made salad. At restaurants, look for healthier meat options or even salads, and instead of dessert, get a tea or fruit option instead and limit the amount of alcohol you drink. It can be hard to stay motivated when you are eating out, so try looking up the menu online ahead of time and picking a restaurant that has healthy food options you would want to eat.

This resolution also involves the cooperation of your friends and family, especially the people who you may be living with. It will be easier for you to stay on task if you notify them of your goal, to avoid them from potentially compromising your healthy diet plans.

Eating a healthier diet involves a lot of planning and preparation to make incorporating these foods into your diet easy and achievable. Consider taking a cooking class with friends to learn how to make different dishes, or search through websites online to find meal options that are appealing to you and easy to manage. Freezing homemade meals or saving leftovers is also a great alternative for ordering out or eating take-out food. With luck, this year-long resolution to eat healthier may be something you continue to do long after.

Resolutions 2017 – How to lose weight

Losing weight is a goal that many people struggle with, and not just as part of their new year’s resolution. In order to be successful in this resolution, it’s important to keep yourself motivated and on task, and set goals for yourself that are realistic and achievable. You want to push yourself, as long as it is reasonable and something that you can easily maintain.

To stay motivated, consider finding a friend or a relative who is also looking to lose weight, and use each other to help stay motivated. When you’re working with another person to achieve a goal, you can both work to keep each other on track and positive. If you don’t know anyone else, consider joining a fitness or weight loss group in Calgary, where you can meet other people in the city who are working towards the same goal.

It’s also a good idea to set a schedule for each week on when you’re going to exercise, and what meals you’re going to eat. When doing this, it’s also important to keep in mind your own lifestyle and schedule, or those of the people you may live with. For example, it may be more realistic to only schedule in so many days for a work out each week, and one day on the weekends to go out for drinks with friends. This will help you determine what you want your weight loss goal for the year to be, and give you time throughout the year to achieve it.

It’s also a good idea to keep this resolution fun and interesting throughout the year. For example, you can change the type of physical activity you do each month, or try a different healthy food each week. You can set up healthy and positive rewards for yourself when you complete certain weight milestones, like treating yourself to a relaxation day.

Throughout the year, it’s important to remember that losing weight isn’t going to happen all at once, and that it is different for everyone. This is especially important if you’re completing this resolution with others. Everyone loses weight differently through different activities, and to stay motivated a be successful, you need to set and goal and follow it in a way that is most achievable for you.

photo credit https://traineracademy.org