Happy New Year everyone! Is it already too late to talk about new years resolutions?

We all know this too well. Towards the end of the year and boosted with heaps of hopes we sit down and get a long list of life-changing ideas together: healthy eating, more sports, less alcohol, those kinds of things.

Unfortunately, only a few weeks or even days later, we figure out how difficult it is to adopt a new habit and get heavily frustrated – I am no exception.

But why do so many people fail to succeed? A poll by Bupa, found that the two main reasons for failing to stick to a New Year’s resolution are down to lack of confidence paired with unprecise goal setting.

In a bid to counter this trend, 52 percent said that setting small, more achievable goals will help them stick to their New Year’s resolution.

Let’s have a look at what are the most popular resolutions and how to manage to really stick to them. A recent poll by ComRes, has revealed that the top five New Year’s resolutions are:

Exercise more
Lose weight
Eat more healthily
Take a more active approach to health
Learn a new skill or hobby

All the above New Year’s resolutions sound very familiar, aren’t they? So, what is the key to eventually stick to them?

While many people have a clear idea of what they want to achieve, the problem is they don’t know how. Therefore, it is essential to develop a detailed action plan, to begin with. Action plans can help to experience less anxiety, more confidence, improved concentration and greater satisfaction about achieving goals and are more likely to succeed.

The key questions for an effective plan are:

1. Is it specific?
Bad goal: I want to save more money this year
Good goal: I will save £3,000 this year

A clear goal in mind gives you a clear focus on what needs to be done.

2. Can it be measured?
Bad goal: I want to lose weight
Good goal: I will lose 2 stone by my daughter’s wedding

Using figures helps to measure and follow the progress. This helps with keeping you motivated.

3. Is it achievable or attainable?
Bad goal: I want to speak to my friends on the phone each week
Good goal: I will use the bus journey home to talk with my friends every week on the phone.

Often we fail to succeed because the goals we are setting are simply impossible to achieve. Therefore it’s vital to ask yourself, is the goal you are setting attainable? Balancing the challenge to stay motivated and setting a goal that is not too hard is the key.

4. Is it realistic?
Bad goal: I want to fit into my old shirt
Good goal: I am going to get into my old shirt by July 1, 2018

Goals are easier to achieve when you set a realistic time frame. Consider long and short-term goals, while you are working on long-term goals, short-term goals help to constantly keep focussing on small steps.

5. Is it exciting?
Bad goal: I want to save money
Good goal: I will save money so I can take my family on holiday to Disneyland

Setting exciting goals help to maintain motivation levels high. Try coming up with different and interesting ways of making your goals exciting.

With the above tips why not start fresh with a detailed plan of action. By the way, if one of your New Year’s resolutions is to finally declutter the basement or loft and are in need of storage space, just get in touch with us and book your unit now.