New Year’s Resolutions And How To Keep Them

Well, would ya look at that? Yet another post that should have been published before January 1st! I’m not so good with deadlines, okay? But I promise this is the last one. After this, we move on. Leave the past in the past, yes?

I am one of those unrealistic dreamers who makes New Year’s Resolutions. I know, I know. No one ever keeps those. Except… I actually have kept some resolutions for several years now? Oops. Guess I’m crushing stereotypes…

How do I do it?

Well, here are a few tips.

Be Specific

The more specific, the better. This year, I resolved to write a minimum of one page every day. I resolved to write three novels of 60 thousand words or more. And I resolved to boost at least one existing novel to 100 thousand words.

These are specific goals – and therefore that much easier to keep. Vague resolutions don’t get kept, son.

Make ’em specific.

Make It More Difficult

If you’re like me, you make some of the same resolutions every year. Because if you could do last year, you feel confident that you can do it again, right? Right.

But I would challenge you to make these goals a little bit more difficult than last time. Raise the stakes a bit.

All my writing goals are examples of this. I wrote 50 thousand words last year. So I’ve raised the stakes a bit… we’ll see just how much I can accomplish!

Make It Easier

Admittedly, I fail every year at keeping some of my resolutions. Obviously, this makes me even more determined to accomplish the goal the next year. I’ve found that a good method is to lower the goal just a bit and achieve that first.

For example, I sadly was not able to achieve my goal of 200 books last year, so I’ve set my goal on Goodreads for 150. Which, I must point out, is still more than 60 more books than I was able to read last year.

Be Realistic

This is simple.

Know yourself. Don’t be ridiculous. Do not make goals like, “Become supreme ruler of Africa. Buy a castle in Russia. Talk to humans. Leave the house. Read every book on my TBR.”

Ha. Let’s not be crazy, okay? For us to accomplish our dreams, we must keep both feet planted firmly on the ground.

Make small goals. Make realistic goals. Keep your goals. Live your dreams. Be a dragon ruler.

I am done now.

Okay, humans, let the shrieking commence!

Do you make Resolutions? Do you keep them? What are some of your resolutions for this year? Got any tips for how to keep resolutions? What are your sneaky tricks? Do you ever make the same resolution several years in a row?