Each year ushers the opportunity for a new start. Fresh energy and enthusiasm. But all too often, we spend so much time worrying about what we're going to do that we barely accomplish anything let alone plot out a plan for ourselves. So, we've put together this short guide to help you achieve some of your business goals as each new year begins, as well as the personal goals you may seek to reach along the way.
Prioritize Your Goals
Spend some time looking over your resolutions. Rank your goals in importance based on three factors: how much I want this, how much I need this, how much it will benefit me. If a goal is strong in all of these factors, it needs to be a priority. If a goal is strong in only one or two of these, it may be less of a priority. Needless to say, if a goal meets none of these, you may want to save it for next year.
Make The Goals Measurable
Saying "I want to increase profits in 2019" is a nice goal and all, but it doesn't mean a whole lot. Instead, decide how much you want to increase profits and in what time frame. It makes more sense to say something like "I want to increase profits by 10% each quarter over the previous quarter." Once you've made the goals more measurable, you'll need to decide what it's going to take to attain those goals.
Build Out The Processes
Let's assume you are trying to increase profits by 10% each quarter; what is that going to take? Do you need to increase your marketing budget by a certain amount? Should you hire more salespeople? Are you losing money due to technical insufficiencies? Make a timeline of the tasks it is going to take to accomplish your new figures and stick to that timeline.
Consider Apps to Help You Stay On Track
If you've embraced technology as an important tool in you work or home life, then you may consider this as a good way to keep you on track. PCMag lists several mobile apps that they recommend using to help you keep up with various resolutions, such as Strides (iOS) and Resolutions (Android) as all-in-one solutions. Even apps as simple as Google Calendar and task managing apps such as Wunderlist and Todoist can help you manage your planning if you prefer digital over paper.
Dedicate a Month (at least) to Form New Habits
If your resolutions involve making a habit change, such as cutting out bad habits or forming new, good habits, there are a few things you should consider. When trying to form new habits, studies suggest that it can take as few as 18 days of performing the behavior consistently. This means that if you are trying to go to the gym regularly, write out your daily tasks or learning a new skill, you need to perform that behavior consistently for it to start becoming habitual for you.
Replace Your Bad Habits
Rather than saying "I'm going to stop eating junk food," try replacing that junk food with something healthier. If you were to try to cut out junk food cold turkey, you'd likely end up rooting around for something to snack on and give in pretty quickly. Consider replacing your junk food with healthier snacks that satisfy that craving.
Couple New Habits With Old Habits
Sometimes the best way to form a new habit is to pair it with an existing habit, or "piggybacking". For example (from the video), if you are trying to start doing more push-ups, try doing them after every visit to the restroom. Once you've got that down, try adding a glass of water every time you do push-ups. Think about what habits you are trying to form and what you can piggyback on it.
