5 Tips to Achieve Your New Year Goals

“New year, new me,” we’ve all said some variation of this statements in our lives. People think of the New Year as a fresh start. A time where they can set new goals. A season of, “out with the old and in with the new”. For some people this means dropping that extra 10 pounds, for others it may mean paying off their credit cards but for a lot of people their new goals are work related. “I’m going to get that promotion!” “I’m going to get that raise!” “I will convince my boss that we need casual Friday!” Whatever your goals may be for the “new work you”, here are a few tips to help get you there.

• Vow to be more organized. While this is typically easier said than done taking little steps can make a huge difference.  At the end of each day write down three things you completed and three things you need to complete. So you have a bases for what has been done and what needs to be done. If you know where things are you can better maneuver them to where you want them to be.
• Don’t just set goals make plans!  In a previous blog, Plan Your Way to a More Productive Schedule, we discuss how important it is to follow up ideas with a plan. Don’t simply set the resolution: “I want to lose 15 pounds.” Make it more obtainable with a path to the goal and a time frame. “I want to lose 15 pounds by April. I plan to do this by working out 5 days a week and only eating 1200 calories a day.” This way it isn’t just a goal, it’s a plan of action.
• Hold yourself accountable. For example your Goal is to get a raise, your plan is to make yourself more valuable by knowing how to work in different departments and therefore deserving of a pay increase. Give yourself punishments and rewards. If you can operate the system with minimal monitoring or help, by your goal date perhaps you can purchase that nice watch which you’ve been eyeing. If you don’t learn the system by your goal date, add half an hour of after-hours training a day until you do.
• Communicate! At the end of the day most failure isn’t a result of bad intentions or bad planning it’s a result of bad communication. Communicate your goals with people who are affected by your achieving them or who has a desire for you to succeed. If you want to be the top sales person in the upcoming year talk to your boss. Typically when an employee does well the company/ boss benefits. This is why your boss is a great resource. Tell him or her your desire to increase your sales, so they can give you tips, provide encouragement when your goals seem far away (even the best laid plans will have days when you will be doubtful) and possibly even push you when you fall off track. It’s proven that you are more likely to achieve goals when you tell someone else about them.
• Let go of fear. Change is inevitable. So all you can do is try to make the changes you face positive ones. Something that isn’t often said, failure is inevitable as well, at some point we all fail at something. The important thing is to not let fear or failure stop us from trying to constantly improve ourselves.