Welcoming 2025 with achievable resolutions
If you follow my Facebook page, you probably already know that this week I am pretty seriously focusing on content that will help you create achievable goals and resolutions for the new year, in this article, I am going to combine all those Facebook posts into one easy to read article, lets get into it….
First, some stats on New Years Resolutions. The most common New Years Resolutions according to Statista¹ are to: save more money, eat healthier, exercise more, lose weight, spend more time with friends/family, quit smoking, and reduce spending on living expenses. Additionally, 43% of survey respondents report not making a new years resolution.
According to an article from The Ohio State Fisher College of Business², 43% of New Years resolutions are given up on by the end of January.
Based on the above statistics, here’s what we can deduce: most American’s set a New Years Goal, but most American’s don’t make it past February with said goals. How can we work to improve these statistics and stick to our goals all year long?
There isn’t an easy answer to this question, obviously sticking to goals is not easy or everyone would do it, right? To help combat this, I am going to review creating SMART goals and some common sense strategies to creating achievable goals that will last all year long.
SMART is a simple acronym I use to help my clients set achievable goals, it can been used everywhere from the workplace to setting health or new years resolutions, I'll get into the basics of the acronym here....
S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Achievable
R - Relevant
T - Time specific
Even though there are multiple components to writing a SMART goal, the goal does not have to be long or complicated, it just has to have those components.
Here is a personal example of a smart goal:
It is my goal to run the flying pig half marathon in May 2025.
Your goal can be as simple and short as that. The goal is specific (running a half), measurable (it's a measurable distance, and I can measure my pace), achievable (I ran 2 half marathons in 2024), relevant (I enjoy running, it is a relevant goal to my health goals and hobbies), time specific (the flying pig happens the first Saturday in May, there is a specific deadline on when to be prepared).
Now, the above goal is good, but I’m not going to magically wake up on May 4th and feel like wow! I want to go run 13.1 miles today, that will be easy! No, there has to be a plan in place.
So, the next step is to break down your SMART goal into bite sized pieces. In the example above, I will start with a training plan mapping out the runs I will do from January to May, then I will add in a goal for additional weight lifting and stretching workouts. From there, I will set monthly and weekly goals. For example, I will run 12 times per month which averages to 3 runs per week. Life if messy, some weeks I’ll run more, some will be less, but as long as the 12 runs in a month are accomplished I’ll feel good/well prepared for running 13 miles.
How you break down your goal will be highly individualized based on the goal and time frame you set.
Another business related goal of mine is to post on social media once per week, so that means I have 52 posts to plan over the course of the year. To break down this year long goal, I will create monthly themes, then create at least 4 posts that correlate with each theme. When I create the 4 posts, I will schedule them to post to social media on specific days and times so I stay on track.
To help track accomplishing my goals as well as just daily activities in my life, I have a checklist/spreadsheet of daily, weekly and monthly activities I want to accomplish in my business and personal life to help keep me on track as well as reduce the feeling of overwhelm (notice I said reduce, not eliminate ;)).
The tracking spreadsheet I use to organize my life was very much inspired from a LinkedIn post from a friend as well as from some coaching from another friend (both far more naturally organized than I am). Emily’s post is geared towards leadership professionals organizing work life, but the post easily translates to organizing just about anything. I can personally attest to such as I have used her framework to assess, organize, prioritize and reflect on work, business, school and personal tasks and goals.
So, what are your goals for this year!? Did you write out your goals somewhere and use the SMART goal framework? How are you staying organized and on track in a way that is sustainable for the whole year?
If you have health goals you’d like to set but need help getting clear on what those goals are you’ve come to the right place. At Merkle Wellness Solutions, we help clients cut through the noise of diet culture and conflicting nutrition information. Once we cut through the noise, we help clients build a nutrition and lifestyle pattern that makes sense for them, whether it be improving an A1C, weight loss or something else, we’re passionate about empowering clients to achieve their goals and increase their confidence in their health.
If you’re interested in learning more, visit our contact page for all the ways we can get in touch and schedule an appointment.
References:
Fleck, Anna. “Infographic: America’s Top New Year’s Resolutions for 2023.” Statista, 19 Dec. 2024, www.statista.com/chart/29019/most-common-new-years-resolutions-us/. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
Batts, Richard. “Why Most New Year’s Resolutions Fail | Lead Read Today.” Lead Read Today | Fisher College of Business, 2 Feb. 2023, fisher.osu.edu/blogs/leadreadtoday/why-most-new-years-resolutions-fail.
