‘Smart’ technique will make your 2020 resolutions stick | Page 2 | Sunday Observer

‘Smart’ technique will make your 2020 resolutions stick

29 December, 2019

In the early years of my life, I have never been much interested in making New Year’s resolutions. I felt it a shade arbitrary to make up some kind of goal that very few actually have the intention of fulfilling. Why wait until the beginning of a New Year to do something when you could do it right now?

But when I began to study Business Administration and Management in the university, I discovered a technique which could be used to make our New Year resolutions stick. It is a proven procedure we use in Project Management for setting long-term goals and objectives. It did give me good results.

But first, let’s go through briefly how this ‘resolution habit’ came into being.

History

It seems, New Year resolutions have existed for quite a long time. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the diaries of Anne Halkett, a writer and member of the Scottish gentry, contains a number of pledge taken from biblical verses such as, “I will not offend any more”. Halkett titled this page ‘Resolutions,’ and wrote them on January 2, 1671, which indicates that the practice was in use at the time.

It was common enough by the beginning of the 19th century that people would make (and fail to keep) such resolutions that the habit was satirized. An article in Walker’s Hibernian Magazine in 1802 states, “the following personages have begun the year with a string of resolutions, which they all solemnly pledged to keep.” Thereafter, the words ‘New Year’ began to appear before resolution.

Stick

Historically, resolutions were treated as serious oaths. But now it’s different, and wither away swiftly. A prime culprit is overconfidence in our intentions. The good intentions readily evaporate without a trace in our everyday experiences such as exhaustion, temptation and habit. It can be tough to stick to lofty goals you set for yourself on January 1, but it is also possible to use the gift of a new calendar year to put new healthy habits into practice. Fortunately, academic research on goal-setting can help.

A US research shows that a mere 8 percent of goal setters actually succeed in maintaining their goals in the long term. For example, regardless of how consistent our resolutions are to lose weight, year after year, we may still manage to botch those goals, landing us back in square one.

SMART goals

Corporate leaders use a time-tested method of applying some effective ways to overcome the common obstacles to realising their business plans. They are known as ‘SMART’ goals and New Year resolutions are more likely to be attained if they are ‘SMART.’

The term SMART comes from the first letter of the following words: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.

For example, in a weight goal, the following steps would help resolve it.

Specific: Ask yourself, “is this goal determinable?” If there is a clear way to tell if the goal is being met or not, then it’s specific. Instead of saying “I will work out more,” say, “I will work out 3 times this week for at least 30 minutes each.” People are more likely to stick to goals if they are specific and focused, rather than goals that are lofty and general. You either do it or you don’t.

Measurable: Instead of saying “I want to slim down,” craft a goal that includes a unit that can be measured, like, “I want to lose 10 Kilos this year” When a goal includes a measurable unit, like X kilos, there is a tangibility to progress. The benchmarks could be set, tracked and compared, and you know for sure when you achieve it.

Attainable: Setting goals that are out of reach would discourage you and leave you feeling defeated. In terms of weight loss, setting a goal to lose 25 kilos when your weight is 60 kilos would not only be physically impossible, but downright unhealthy. Creating a goal that is too easy would be defeating as well, and wouldn’t be challenging. Accomplishing it won’t provide the same satisfaction as it would if you worked hard for it. Try to find that healthy medium between attainable and challenging.

Realistic: Remember your lifestyle which cannot be changed. You still have to go to work, pay your bills, and you only have 24 hours in your day. Therefore, realistic goals are the ones that could be achieved within those confines. To determine if a goal is realistic take barriers, like time and money, into consideration. If your job requires you to be there from 9am to 5pm, you can try to fix your yoga classes on Saturday or Sunday or both days. Always aim at goals you can achieve without a hassle.

Timely: The best ‘specific’ and ‘measurable’ goals incorporate a time constraint (i.e. I will lose 2 Kilos in 2 months). While you want to avoid setting a time limit that’s too far in the future that you lose focus and/or forget your goal, you need to give yourself time to achieve your goal, e.g. weight loss doesn’t happen overnight.

Hence, a SMART weight-related goal would be: I will lose half-a-kilo per week by following my dietitian’s meal plan and exercising on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and one hour on Saturdays or Sundays. Also, if you want to implement the dietician’s meal plan, use the SMART way to achieve the expected results.

Success

In a business atmosphere, thousands of project managers have successfully implemented the SMART system and achieved their goals. It would definitely work for your New Year resolutions. Of course, it’s not a magic wand. But if you are serious about making a change, play with the possibilities to discover how the SMART system could work. This New Year presents an opportunity to break your failed cycle, so let’s get to it.

Good luck and Happy New Year!

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