At the end of every year, people make a list of what they want to do better for the whole next year. I don't know about you, but I have problems making it past today, let alone, six weeks, or six months. If I have problems making it past today, what chance do I have to convince myself to do something well for a year?
I will say that taking that time to reflect on what you have done in the past and see where you are headed is a good thing. Seeing the areas that you might not have done as well as you would like; or looking forward for where you would like to end up. These things I can do. But why do I have to wait for the end or the beginning of the year to do this? The nice thing is you don't have to wait.
Regularly reviewing where you are and where you want to go is necessary to proper growth in the direction you want to go. If you put a cake in the oven and can only check it once an hour or once a day, you will surely have a burnt cake or a fire. But if you can check on it regularly, you can have a perfectly cooked cake that everyone can enjoy. Why do we as a society encourage people to check where they are at only once a year at New Years? Most would say it is tradition... Tradition can be a good thing, but if you don't understand they why behind tradition it can get you into trouble.
I personally review my goals (maybe not all of them) regularly, sometimes daily, others weekly, a handful monthly. This allows me to see how I am trending. I say trending for the reason of, I want to make sure I am headed the right direction, and I can always adjust the speed and quality as needed. For me one of the biggest issues I have with New Year's Resolutions is that they sometimes have an unfair timeframe for goal, or that they are easily forgotten. One example is you want to eat better, the hard part, you just came out of two seasons where eating too much or not the right stuff was "expected" of you, and now you need to break that pattern. Good luck on trying to turn your diet upside down to reach that crazy goal of eating only salads for the next 12 months.
I like to come up with goals throughout the year, and figure out what I need to do to achieve them. I ease myself into many of my goals and get started on them in an appropriate pace to maximize success. One example is, "I would like to go to the gym one more time each week." Nice and simple. It has a measurable result, it has a defined time frame, and it encourages growth without saying "I want to go to the gym every single day of the year." Those who have gone to the gym know that after a certain point your body needs a break or your gym routine will quickly fall apart. And with the one more time each week, it doesn't dictate when, how much, and in which way. meaning, if today I choose to go twice to the gym, that counts, If I wanted to go tomorrow evening instead of tomorrow morning like my normal routine, that is fine. It allows flexibility to achieve the goal. And if it is July when I come up with this goal, do I really want to wait six months before implementing this goal as a New Year's Resolution? No! I choose to do it as soon as I reasonably can.
Here is another example, "I want to be nicer to those that bug me." This one is a little more abstract, but it still is an example of why wait to implement this goal. If we were to adjust it to "I want to be nicer to those who bug me, starting next Thursday." That is a weird one, why wait until next Thursday and not just start today? Well next Thursday might be your next big work function where the real people who bug you will be there. With that context it makes sense, but why wait till then?
The sooner you can leverage the motivation that encouraged you to create the goal in the first place, the stronger the motivation will be to work towards that goal. I have found for myself that some goals, I have about at six week motivation window from the time I have enough motivation to work towards a goal, till the motivation wanes. With that in mind, I have six weeks to create enough of an environment that can keep me motivated to push past my six week expiration date. I have six weeks to make it past the sucky part of starting, and figuring out how to build an environment for success. I have six weeks to make a good effort start on the goal. This does not mean I have six weeks to finish the goal (in some cases that is part of the goal), it only means that I have six weeks to make it where I am committed enough, stuck enough, in need enough, or desperate enough to continue work on the goal.
Committed, stuck, in need, desperate enough. Interesting word choice. Most people only think of committed enough to finish a goal. I have learned that if you know motivation alone isn't enough to encourage completion, create a need to finish the goal. If your goal is to fix the oil leak on the car and you take the car a part to do it, well you might have created a need to finish that project, because you just took apart the only car you have and you need it fixed by Tuesday. If you are looking for a new job and gave yourself six weeks to find a job, well when cash starts running out, you get rather desperate to find a job (The idea is not to be desperate when looking for a job), but it sure does make offers look much nicer when there is a strong need. Create a safe healthy environment where you create a need to work towards your goal. Learn how to encourage growth towards your goal. For me, going to the gym is a mixed bag, the way I get myself to the gym most days...I pay someone to be my personal trainer. I have a commitment to someone that I can not let down, and so I go. Accountability to others is another great aid in working towards your goals.
One favorite example I have heard is someone asked a friend to call randomly and say they are coming over. The reason for this, the person knew that they would frantically clean their apartment when the person said they would be coming over. Part of their instructions to their friend, was that the friend didn't have to come over, but the urgency was enough to encourage the individual to clean their apartment regularly. Don't be afraid to be creative in how you work towards goals. Similarly, I have learned that if I have easy access to my money I tend to spend it. For this reason I have my savings in a completely separate bank or service where I cant just easily transfer it between accounts. I still can get to it if I need it but it takes extra steps for me to be able to use it.
To wrap things up, New Year's Resolutions as most people know them, generally disappear before the end of February. When you have motivation to work towards a goal, start working on it as soon as you can. If it isn't today, have a good reason why it needs to be tomorrow (The store is closed now and opens tomorrow). New Years is a good time to review your goals and start some, but the better time to start your goals is today, don't wait until the motivation has passed.
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Cover: https://www.history.co.uk/articles/the-history-of-new-years-resolutions