Happy New Year All Over Again

This is a guest post from one of my new friends, Paul Flanigan. Paul is a frequent speaker and blogger, consulting clients on brand marketing through digital and social media. He has managed media networks for retail and professional sports teams for 15 years. You can find Paul writing (and occasionally ranting) at www.experiate.net

It’s February. How are those resolutions working out for you?

You had good intentions. A new year, a new reset. When the clock hit midnight, it was moment of renewal. You could start fresh with so many things: Start that new blog, get that dream job, lose that extra 20 pounds, or find that special someone of your dreams. And while ramping up to tackle that resolution, you filled your head with motivational blogs and sayings, stuff to get you going. Then you put things on a calendar: “I’m going to do this today! And on Wednesday! Then on Friday!”

But there was a hiccup, and before you knew it, your resolution was slipping away. You now have it as a note, something to get back to. It can wait. You can get to it a little later, right?

C’mon.

Perhaps the new year brought you a degree of hubris that clouded your judgement.  Now, after a month, you realize a year is, in fact, a long time, and that your goal is beyond your ability.

Here’s the good news. You still have 11 months to do it. And with a little course correction on your plans, you’ll get there. Here are three methods I have used to recover my resolutions in February and still meet my goal before another ball drops on Times Square:

Go Get A Date
December 31 to January 1 is no different than February 9 to February 10. The stroke on midnight occurs 365 times during a year. Go ahead and pick a different one.

There is a psychological “reset” factor to consider. It would be easy for me to say, “Start on a Monday,” because we so often associate Monday as the start of a new week. Personally, that doesn’t work for me. I prefer to start on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, because it feels less like a planned reset and more spontaneous. Start on a significant number, or your favorite day of the week. There is no law against starting on a Friday. Whatever day you choose, your ingrained positive outlook on the day or date will be a motivator to tackle the resolution.

Break Down Your Goals.
Were they too lofty? Were they too far reaching? Try this:

Instead of one single goal for the year, break it out into six bi-monthly goals, or 11 monthly goals. See the results after 30 days. I caution you from thinking about a goal after one week because the results are too drastic. You could see incredible results after five days, but the results wane after 10. Or you see nothing after five days and give up.

For example, it seems that most people, when starting out a new workout, get about three days into it before they crash due to lack of desire or incredibly sore muscles. If you start on Monday, chances are you won’t be doing it on Thursday or Friday. So why not start on Wednesday? Then you have three days of workouts followed by two days of rest and recuperation. The R and R comes quicker and next Monday’s workout seems less daunting. Psychologically, you feel like you accomplished a whole week of workouts, and this motivates you to continue into the next week.

Be Flexible
Life doesn’t have a schedule. I have yet to do anything that isn’t interrupted. The key is flexibility. You may not be able to get to that project in the morning, or you may not be able to dedicate the time each day promised. But 30 minutes is better than nothing, and when in a situation to produce, it’s remarkable what you can accomplish in a half-hour.

It doesn’t seem so bad when you think about this way, does it? The key to resolutions is knowing there is an end, a resolution.

Your journey can start tomorrow. (Or the day after.)

What other methods would you suggest to recover those resolutions?

Image Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/uwbobio