New Year’s Again Already?

Don’t make resolutions without an action plan. The secret to success is right in your hands.

J. Allen Shaw

We just rounded another corner into 2022. Time sure does fly. How did last year shape up for you? Did you keep your 2021 New Year’s resolutions more than a hot minute? If you answered “no” count yourself among the majority. Making resolutions is the easy part. It’s setting goals and changing habits that’s hard.

That’s why you really shouldn’t make New Year’s resolutions and instead, create a plan for what you want to achieve in the coming year. A plan gives you the opportunity to sit down and decide what it is you want o achieve for yourself and your business.

It gives you a solid foundation and place to start. A plan also helps you keep track of your progress so you know you’re moving in the right direction. When making your plan for what you’d like to achieve in the coming year, begin with the end in mind.

End In Mind

It helps to know from the start what your end goal is. Once you know exactly what it is you’re trying to achieve, then you can begin to make a step-by-step plan to get there. You may find that to achieve your goal you’ll need additional training, or guidance. Be sure to include that step in your plan along with a way you’ll make time for the training and how you’ll pay for it.

As you plan out each step, look for anything that may be standing in the way. Are there additional steps you need to add to address these challenges? Are there any bad habits or lifestyle changes you’ll need to make along the way? Can you consider a work-around? Do you have a tribe that can help you?

By creating a plan, you get a crystal clear picture of exactly what it takes to achieve your goal. How much effort you’ll need to put forth. And, whether or not it’s going to be worth that effort. You may plan it all out and then decide it’s not for you. Or, you may decide to become more determined and motivated.

Everything Is Doable

Knowing exactly what you’re trying to achieve can you put you on the right path. It can open up opportunities that may have gone unnoticed otherwise. If you chunk your plan down into doable steps, you can decide when and how long you can work on each step. You’ll know the who, what, where, when, why and how. This can keep you from feeling so overwhelmed you just give up.

If your New Year’s resolution is starting a new business or some other life changing event, having a plan allows you have to the follow-through you’ll need to see it through. Or not. You may find out that you’re not willing to do all that it takes. Or, in your planning you may find another smaller goal that ignites your passion and decide to pursue that instead.

If you set more than one resolution having a plan will allow you prioritize them. Knowing which one you want to work on first, and you’ll see if any of them are connected. One goal may be to start a writing business. Another may be to travel more. And, yet another may be to take up photography.

Without writing them down they may all seem like separate goals. But once you see them together, you could make a plan to write about your travels and include the photos with your articles.

Priorities

However, if you do find that your resolutions are all unrelated, you’ll be able to prioritize them so you can see where you should start. You’ll also be able to see if all your resolutions are worth pursuing. You may decide that doing that extra volunteer work isn’t going to be something you can tackle with everything else that’s on your plate.

You may find that you eliminate some resolutions all together. Or you can revisit them later on and see if they’re still doable. But, the key is to only focus on one goal at a time. This will allow you to remain passionate about that goal and help you stay focused until it’s completed.

It can be good to set firm deadlines for completing each step in your plan. Just keep in mind that you can’t control every step. Things won’t always go to plan. So, be realistic and be flexible, you may need to adjust every so often and that’s to be expected. It’s about forward momentum and working toward the end result.

Always remember that what’s worth pursuing takes time. Big changes don’t happen overnight. Create your plan and plan to create the new life you desire and deserve.