Small Ways to Manage Your New Year's Resolutions
⌛ By Kaylin R. Staten ⌛
Now that Christmas and other December holidays are over or are winding down, many of us begin to reflect on the year we had and what we liked and didn’t like about it. I missed the window of opportunity for Christmas blog post (there’s always next year!), but I wanted to share some tips from #behindthehourglass as we enter 2018.
If your 2017 was a wondrous dreamscape or your worst nightmare, here’s hoping these tips help you prepare for your New Year — both personally and professionally.
Create a list of goals for the New Year.
I am an avid fan of list making, so it’s no surprise that I create my own list of New Year’s Resolutions. Usually, I think about them in mid-December and then write them down. It could be something small, like writing in my journal every day or something major, like getting my eating and exercise routine in check. A list keeps you organized, and when you reflect during your next round of goal-setting (I suggest at least quarterly intervals), you will be able to assess what you've done and what still needs some work.
Get creative with your list.
A good, old-fashioned piece of paper or Word document will suffice, but if you want a visual reminder, use your list in creative ways. I have used a glass ball ornament for my resolutions’ needs for a few years, and it’s a beautiful way to dress up your Christmas tree with a homemade ornament — as well as have a visual representation of your goals and objectives for the upcoming year. I write out each resolution on a small piece of paper, fold it, and then place it inside the glass ornament. This year, I opted to stamp “KRS’ Resolutions” on a blue piece of metal to decorate the ornament. There are myriad ways to be creative. Start your own inspiration board, make an Adobe Spark Page, install a phone app. Do what engages your own needs and personalities.
Check out this article where I talk about my favorite ornaments and traditions, including my glass ornaments, here.
Be lenient with yourself.
I am a perfectionist by nature (anyone who knows me knows this simple fact), so I am often hard on myself when I “fail” at maintaining a goal. But, guess what? It’s OK! It’s often the journey that matters most when you’re goal setting. If you have that piece of chocolate cake on a diet or decide to play “Super Mario Odyssey” instead of writing 500 daily words of your novel, it’s OK to skip a beat or two. We can’t always be “on,” so be sure to take a break with your New Year’s Resolutions. Keep your eye on the goal, but don’t be too obsessive-compulsive with it. This is easier said than done, I know, but a little work-relaxation balance will pay dividends in the long run. It takes time to reach goals, after all. It won’t happen overnight.
Don’t feel inclined to share your goals.
We are in an era of over-sharing on social media, so you may want to share your New Year’s Resolutions with the World Wide Web. If that’s not your thing, that is most certainly OK! All of us have goals we don’t mind sharing with family and friends — and even those on our social media networks — but, there could be goals we want to keep to ourselves. (Trust me, I have more than a few of those!) Don’t feel pressured to post about them, if you don’t want to do that. If you do, that’s awesome, too. Just be sure you’re doing the posting and goal-setting for yourself.
If there’s a goal you don’t achieve in 2018, try it again in 2019. Good luck with your creative representations and sticking to your New Year’s Resolutions!
Copyright © MMXVII Hourglass Omnimedia, LLC
Kaylin R. Staten is an award-winning public relations practitioner and writer. She owns Hourglass Omnimedia, a consulting company based in Huntington, WV.
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