Our SMART Guide to Making New Year's Resolutions
It’s January 31st, and if you’re like me, your New Year's Resolution is already starting to waver, if not be already lost to the wind. Let’s be honest. Sticking to resolutions is hard! In fact, according to Time Magazine, about 80% of New Year’s Resolutions are broken by February.
But there is a real reason resolutions tend to flop. Often, our resolutions tend to be huge, time-consuming, changes. While these types of resolutions feel meaningful, they often lack the specificity that’s needed to actually cause lasting change. Remember, lifestyle change is all about making small measurable steps to create long-term change.
A way we like to frame our goals with our clients is by using SMART goals. SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. By making goals with these five benchmarks in mind, we find that our client’s have a higher rate of success.
How do you create a SMART goal? Good question! Here’s our guide to creating goals that you will actually achieve.
Step 1: Be Specific
The first step to setting your SMART goal is to be specific. We ask our clients to be as specific as possible when identifying areas for growth. This means choosing a specific overall goal. For example, instead of saying “I want to be more active,” make the goal more specific by saying “I want to double my daily step count.” We can also make that goal even more finite by outlining smaller ways we might achieve it. Such as:
I will walk a mile on my walking pad every day I’m in the office
I will park in the parking space furthest from the office
I will walk instead of drive when possible
When you’re developing a specific goal, ask yourself:
What do I need to accomplish?
Can I make that more specific?
What steps are necessary in order to accomplish this goal?
Step 2: Make it Measurable
After we make a specific goal, we then need to make sure we can measure our progress. For example, we can now say “I want to double my daily step count by increasing from 2,000 steps a day to 4,000 steps a day.” This gives us a benchmark to measure. Then take a moment to note how you want to track that change. In this instance we could use a step counting app or log daily journal entries. You can use anything that will allow you to track your progress in realtime.
Step 3: It Must be Achievable
I can admit, I fall victim to this trap far too often. We always make our resolutions with the best intentions, but sometimes, our eyes are bigger than our stomachs. In order to meet our goals, we have to be realistic about our ability to complete them. When making a goal, take a moment to self-reflect and identify if this goal – with your current knowledge, energy, and time – is actually feasible. If not, we need to make it more bite sized.
When making a new resolution, as yourself:
Is this goal attainable?
Do you have the skills and resources necessary to achieve it?
Can I make it smaller?
Step 4: Is it Relevant?
Goals should be something that align with your overall values. Making a goal to lose weight might feel productive, but does this match your true values of self love and body positivity? Maybe a better goal would be to add a vegetable to dinner every night. If your goal does not align with your values, chances are it won’t stick.
When setting a relevant goal, ask yourself:
What is the purpose of this goal?
Is this goal relevant to my progress?
Is this goal in line with my values?
Step 5: Keep it Time-Bound
The last step in the SMART Goal model is ensuring your goal is time-bound. Humans tend to do better with shorter, more immediate deadlines. This might mean chunking up a larger goal into smaller timelines in order to increase your sense of progress and success.
During this step of the process, ask yourself:
What is your target date?
Can you achieve your goal within the designated time frame?
Should I make mini-deadlines in order to keep myself motivated?
Change is hard, but by using the SMART goal framework, you can increase your likeness of success! How are your New Year’s Resolutions holding up? Need some help making them SMART? We’d be happy to connect and help you achieve your goals!
