Kristin White del Rosso, Pea Organizing Services, Inc.

Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions by
Understanding the Pitfalls

Thinking about setting yet another New Year’s resolution in 2007? Before you do and then find yourself disappointed that you didn’t follow through again, let’s take a look at why New Year’s resolutions rarely stick. So if this is the year you really want to get organized, be more productive at work or just clean out a room, then you will know how to be successful in your endeavor.

1. You haven’t made space in you life for the new resolution. If you really want to make a change, you have to make room for that change in your life. Often that means something else has to go. Treat your resolution as the top priority in your life and let the lesser ones go, at least until you have resolved this issue to your satisfaction.

2. You aren’t consistent with your actions and progress. Making a resolution stick means committing to working at it every day. You cannot be successful with irregular activity. Commit to doing something toward your goal everyday, no matter how small. That way you are always moving forward to success and not staying stagnant or falling behind, which eventually causes you to drop the goal entirely.

3. You don’t really want to make the change. People do not successfully change because they think they “should”; they change when it is what they “want.” To be successful, look within yourself to see what you want to accomplish and then commit yourself to that goal.

4. You don’t have an ally in the process. It’s much easier to maintain your drive and focus when you have someone to hold you accountable. Find a friend, relative, counselor, or coach who will be you ally as you take on this new priority in your life. Tell them how they can best support you in the process.

5. Your resolution is too broad. If your goal is too large, you set yourself up for defeat. Avoid this by breaking your resolution down into small steps, which you can track and more importantly, accomplish. Reward yourself and move on to the next step.

6. You haven’t created a true atmosphere for change. In order to be successful, you need a system in place that supports your goal and gives you the structure you need to accomplish it. Make sure your daily plan and schedule includes and supports your resolution in order to achieve it.

7. You haven’t said no to outside distractions. Part of being successful often means saying “no” to people and projects that are not part of your current focus. You can only do so much at one time. Keep your priority No. 1 and where possible, avoid or eliminate distractions to the priority. Remember, things that are “urgent” to someone else may not be important to you.

Now that you know which traps to avoid, you can look confidently ahead at setting your resolution and knowing you can achieve it. And remember to celebrate each small success you make toward your goal. It may take a while to get from where you are to where you want to be, so make every success count!