I’m a huge NYR lover, always have been.

The past two years, though, I really wanted to make a way to keep myself accountable all year.

Two years ago, while we were driving home in the freezing cold in the middle of the night, I made a list of seven things on the notepad of my phone. Then I set reminders on the beginning of every month so I could look back at the list and remember. It worked pretty good! I was at least mindful of it all year and did make progress, even though it’s never as much as you would want (at least with me).

But last year, I really stepped it up a notch. My first goal was to set monthly goals; the rest of the “year” goals had to do with different things I wanted to accomplish or “be” this year.

I would say nine out of the twelve months I did this and then evaluated at the end of the month how I’d done. Overall, I was pleased with the results.

But all this is just babbling; let me see if I can give you the idea in a quick, understandable fashion.

My New Year’s Resolution plan from last year

Write out a list of the goals you have for this coming year. Think through all areas of your life.

Make general goals to work towards the entire year.

Plan to make monthly goals in all of these areas, breaking up the general goals into more specific ideas.

Every weekend sit down and make a list of things that you know you can do that week. Check them off as you go and keep remembering your specific purposes for that month.

At the end of each month, it’s helpful to evaluate how you did in accomplishing your goals. Keep in mind that as you go, you will realize that some “kinds” of goals are helpful and attainable and others just didn’t work that well. As you set your new goals for the next month, use what you’ve learned to make your goal-setting more productive.

This system really did work well for me. I definitely was mindful of my resolutions all year, and felt that the weekly and monthly goal-setting made accomplishment much more practical.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on New Year’s Resolutions. What are some that you have kept? Which do you find are the most easily forgotten? Are there methods that have helped you continue your purposes throughout the year? 

This year, if you’re interested, I’m slowing things down to hopefully focus on just one thing that I sense is dangerously lacking.

And here is an example of the monthly goals I made in November.

Happy New Year!