Yesterday, we talked about making New Year’s resolutions that work. We said that in order to make effective resolutions we need to focus on ACTION.

We took our example list of resolutions from:

  • Make more money
  • Lose weight
  • Get more things done
  • Be happier

To:

  • Add one new client every day of the year.
  • Walk at least 10,000 steps a day.
  • Outsource the creation or maintenance of my website and blog.
  • Maintain a daily gratitude journal.

By now you may have figured out the main reason why people fail at this. When you look at your list you may think, “I can’t possibly do all of that!” You’re right, if you try to do it all at once.

Resolutions fail because people try to make over their entire lives in one day.

Start by creating good habits. Decide what your highest priority is, or what steps should come first. For example, writing in a daily gratitude journal could change your outlook in ways that will give you the energy and confidence to tackle new challenges. Get a journal and make writing in it a habit.

After a week or two, as you’ve gotten used to writing in your journal and it’s a habit, start another task. Perhaps you buy a pedometer and work toward your 10,000 steps daily, or it might be going to one networking event a week in order to get one new client a day.

Put your action steps on a schedule. Let’s say that for your goal of making more money you identified several tasks such as holding one workshop a month, publishing a monthly email newsletter, distributing monthly press releases, introducing a new service every month, adding retail products, etc. Give yourself a schedule of when you do each task, rather than playing it by ear and trying to cram all of the monthly tasks into the last two days of the month. Send a press release the first week of the month, send your email newsletter the second week, hold your workshop the third week and introduce a new service, the fourth. Put these on your calendar, and treat each one as an appointment – an appointment that you will keep.

Get the idea? Don’t make all of the changes at once. Take small steps, build habits, and get yourself on a schedule.

What happens when you get off schedule or break your new habit? It can happen. Don’t let that be the excuse. Start back as soon as you can.

January 1st is not the only day you can make positive changes. Make them all through the year and multiply your success!