At the beginning of each year, I like to make New Year’s resolutions or goals. But the trick to actually meeting a goal is breaking it down into bite-sized pieces. Here I’ll share my goals, my mini-goals, and why I think that this year will be the best yet.
Einstein is often (incorrectly) quoted as saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” So maybe setting New Year’s resolutions year after year is actually a form of insanity.
But I like to think that it’s actually the sign of a very healthy mind. One that sees itself and its environment and looks to see how it can make them both better.
Why set them on New Year’s Day? After all, things need fixing all year long, don’t they? Well, that’s just a personality quirk. Most people have no problem setting goals starting any day of the week—today even—but for someone like me, it’s just not right unless it’s the first day of the week/month/year (I’m an Upholder).
Another reason that I think New Year’s resolutions are a great idea is that they force us to focus on what we want to change, give us a start date so we can’t back out, and give us ample research to learn from.
That missed attempt to run a marathon in 2012? Research. That guitar gathering dust from 2018? Research. The expired protein powder at the top of the pantry from 2015? Yup, research.
We learn from our past mistakes and change our goals to increase our chances of meeting them.
That’s not insanity. That’s the road to success.
What we learn from resolutions past
There are two lessons I’ve learned from looking back at past New Year’s resolutions:
- My goal was too big and broad to actually accomplish in the amount of time I had
- I bit off more than I could chew, taking on way too many goals in one year
Maybe you’ve seen these patterns in some of your own resolutions. I have to admit, despite trying my best to focus deeply on certain goals last year, I think I did take on too many. Even breaking them down into smaller pieces (something I learned a few years back to do), there were still too many.
So, the plan this year is to limit the scope and focus on the bite-sized mini-goals that will make my resolutions successful. I tend to separate them into categories, the different pieces that make up, well, me. It also keeps me from having unbalanced goals, forgetting an important part of my life that needs attention. Here’s how I do it:
My 2020 New Year’s Resolutions
1. God
- Complete a year of Bible Study Fellowship
- Make time for daily study and prayer time
- Increase meditation time to 15 minutes
2. Family
- Spend quality time with my husband in the form of weekly “dates”
- Write letters to my kids on their birthdays telling them about their year
- Take each child on a special date each month
- Take more field trips and do more hands-on experiments in our homeschool
- Join a homeschool group
- Finish crocheting the kids’ “baby” blankets
3. Work
- Set my schedule and guard it to avoid overcommitting
- Post content to my blog that adds value and helps others
- Only work during set hours to avoid encroachment
4. Friends
- Invite friends over at least once a month
- Make playdates with other moms during school breaks/weekends
- Send Christmas cards on time
5. Home
- Hold kids accountable for chores with rewards and consequences
- Declutter closets and bedrooms where things accumulate
- Make a monthly meal plan to lower food costs and avoid food waste
- Try one new recipe a week
- Pay down half of our credit card debt
- Plan spending for holidays, birthdays, etc.
6. Community
- Help out each month with church’s Brown Bag ministry
- Hand out bags of necessities to local people in need
- Sponsor another child through World Vision
7. Self
- Do yoga twice a week
- Decrease sugar consumption
- Get enough sleep (6-7 hours a night)
- Practice my violin 20 minutes a day
- Learn 10 new words in Mandarin each day
- Write a fiction novel
- Read 100 books, including one classic each month
Why I’m optimistic about this year’s resolutions
Maybe this list seems short to you, or maybe too long. But I think that it might be just right. I have a really good feeling about these goals, many of which I couldn’t accomplish last year, for a few reasons:
- Each mini-goal is actionable, rather than a pie-in-the-sky idea
- Each one is a building block to strengthen the 7 areas of my life that matter most
- These goals complement rather than conflict with each other
- Listing them here makes me accountable to you to get them done!
Your turn…
What are your New Year’s Resolutions this year? What goals are important to you? Remember to choose things that matter to you, that aren’t too big or too many to be accomplished in the year, and that are actionable.
If you need some help with this process, try these posts for inspiration and guidance:
How to Set Goals that Really Matter
Choosing One Word This Year: Depth over Breadth
New Year’s Goals: Recap, Review, & Rework
I’ll check back in with these goals after the first few months of 2020. I’ll be honest with you about whether things are working—or if they’re not. And maybe we can learn something together…
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