Make Resolutions of Personal Importance

Psychologists say you should only make New Year’s resolutions if you really want to change, says Business Insider. Self-motivation is easy to find if you’re doing something for yourself; if you can’t get motivated, maybe the goal of the resolution isn’t really that important. If you can keep a promise to yourself for a full month, you’ll be well on the way to forming a new habit, and habits — good and bad — are hard to break. And it’s easier to succeed in your resolutions if you can replace an old, unwanted or counterproductive habit with a new, more positive one.

Use an App to Track New Year’s Resolutions

Worried that your resolutions will slip away and be forgotten before you can see any of the benefits? Don’t despair! It’s 2018, and there’s probably an app for that. Among the many fitness trackers available, TechCrunch suggests 8fit for people looking for help in achieving a variety of diet and fitness goals. More general in scope are Done and Habit List, which can track one’s personal progress on virtually any to-do. Or try iMore’s suggestions to break bad habits such as overspending, looking at your smartphone and tablet “screens” too much, and smoking.

Get Smart About New Year’s Resolutions

The key to an achievable New Year’s resolution is to make it “SMART,” the New York Times says. An acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound, management gurus have long used SMART techniques to help businesses make and track concrete, realistic goals. For instance, a SMART personal goal would be “I’m going to lose 10 pounds in three months,” instead of “I’m going to lose some weight.” Giving a goal specific targets and timeframes, in other words, helps delineate the often difficult task ahead.