Forget the New Year’s Resolutions -- Set Goals instead

Date Posted: Dec 10, 2009

Resolutions are typically vague and don’t provide enough structure to help you keep them.  Setting goals and laying out the steps for accomplishing them can bring the results you want.

For example, a common New Year’s Resolution is “Get organized.”   But what does that mean? Clarify things by getting particular, for example, “Sort through items in the bedroom and donate those we no longer need or use.”   The goal as stated here is specific and measurable.   

There are some other factors you should address to help you accomplish your goal.   Set a time limit and put it on your calendar.  So now your goal now could be; “Before spring break, sort through items in the bedroom and donate those we no longer need or use.”   Note that this goal is realistic in terms of both time and monetary costs.  Will you need to spend some money to accomplish your goal?  Probably not in this case, but if there is a dollar cost, estimate how much.  Ask yourself what it will cost you if you do NOT accomplish your goal.  In our example, not sorting items in your bedroom may cause you to feel stress or, in a worst case scenario, cause marital arguments about clutter.

If you want to be more organized, then you may want to set several goals.
1.    Sort items in bedroom.
2.    Organize what will remain.
3.    Sort items in kitchen.
4.    Arrange items based on use.
5.    Clean out and sort items in garage.
6.    Purchase new shelves for garage.

Just remember, goals should:
•    Be specific
•    Be measurable
•    Have a time limit
•    Be realistic in terms of time and money expended
•    Considered in light of what it will cost you if you do not accomplish the goal.

For additional information, check out the article, “This Year Focus on Goals Rather than Resolutions” by Stephanie Calahan:   www.onlineorganizing.com