Starting Healthy Habits with S.M.A.R.T. New Year’s Resolutions

Lose weight. Exercise more. Eat better. Drink more water. The new year often signifies a time of fresh starts and new beginnings. Most Americans make New Year’s resolutions, but drastically fewer of us accomplish them. (Whoops!)

So what is it that gets in the way of remembering or acting on our resolutions? Why do we struggle to keep them up as the year goes on? What is most challenging about implementing lifestyle changes that we know are good for us?

What works in goal-setting

First, let’s start with what we get right. If you’re setting resolutions, you’re starting with intention. Those who seek change have identified a problem that needs fixing. This is the first key step to accomplishing New Year’s resolutions—acknowledging a problem or an area you’d like to improve, and resolving to do something about it.

In doing this, it’s important to remember that resolutions are about you—your life, your health, your happiness. Often, our goals can be influenced by family, friends or societal norms. Though our personal goals and desires may also align with what our loved ones encourage in us, or even seek for themselves, it’s important to stay in touch with our own aspirations and our own reasons for setting (and working towards!) resolutions.

So: What do you want for your life this year?

Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goal New Year’s Resolutions

Once you’ve identified your intentions, reframe your resolutions into S.M.A.R.T. goals—goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-oriented.

Here’s more about the significance of each of these areas, and why they’re important for goal success:

Specific

Your resolution should be clear and defined, providing the specificity required to focus your efforts on attaining your goal.

Be as detailed as possible as you answer the five W’s:

What specifically do you want to accomplish this year?
When do you want to accomplish your resolution by?
Who is involved?
Where is it located?
Why is your resolution important to you?

For example, “I want to exercise more” lacks specificity and may thus feel unmanageable over time. To avoid confusion, consider the five W’s to narrow your focus. The resolution “I want to go to a Pilates class at the gym at least three times each week starting January 1 for six months” is more detailed and defined, which will help you in taking actionable steps toward reaching the goal.

Measurable

Make sure your resolution is measurable. Tracking your progress can help you stay focused and motivated to meet your goal by its deadline. Consider:

How will you know when your resolution is achieved?
What milestones can you measure along the way?

The resolution “I want to go to a Pilates class at the gym at least three times a week starting January 1 for six months” can be measured and easily tracked in a weekly planner or calendar.

Attainable

Anticipate any limitations and constraints that may impact your ability to achieve your goal. Account for these possible requirements or hurdles (such as financial factors) by planning how you’ll meet or overcome them.

Is your resolution realistic for your schedule and finances?
Is your resolution achievable with resources available to you?
What are some potential barriers to meeting your resolution, and how can you overcome them?

Perhaps attending a Pilates class at your gym at least three days a week is unrealistic. Maybe the Pilates class schedule does not align with your work schedule or your gym membership renewal is too expensive for your budget. Set yourself up for success by considering potential constraints prior to finalizing your resolutions, as you can always rework your goal to better align with your schedule, financial situation, etc.

S.M.A.R.T. goals can certainly be big goals, but they don’t involve biting off more than you can chew.

Relevant

This goes back to your intentions and choosing goals that are truly important to you. Only set goals that reflect what you want and who you’d like to be or become. Be as clear as possible on why you want to work toward this goal. Your goal should be big enough and challenging enough to inspire and motivate you. Follow these guiding questions:

Why is your resolution important to you? How is it significant to your life?
Does your resolution align with your other goals?

Maybe you’ve never done Pilates before but your best friend is planning to attend the Pilates class at your local gym. Is this the best option for your exercise goal? Get in touch with your reasons for joining Pilates prior to setting this goal (perhaps attend a trial Pilates class prior to January 1st) to make sure this is right for you too.

Time-oriented

Anchor your goal with a deadline and create a calendar leading up to it with all the steps you need to take to reach your goal. Consider your milestones and track your progress day-to-day.

When should you start and complete your resolution by?
What can you get started with today?
What should you do on a day-to-day, week-to-week or month-to-month basis?
How should you track this?

The Pilates class resolution doesn’t require much planning, as the goal is straightforward and consistent week-to-week throughout the year. However, a goal like training for a marathon may require carefully planning out daily, weekly or monthly milestones. A calendar or tracking app can be your new best friend.

A goal properly set is halfway reached.

–Zig Ziglar

Getting started with S.M.A.R.T. goals

S.M.A.R.T. goals provide focus, enhance productivity and increase commitment to our intended goals. Using this goal-setting toolkit can serve as guidance for successfully achieving your New Year’s resolutions. This year, whether you’d like to lose weight, exercise more, eat better, drink more water (or whatever else you’d like to achieve!)—reworking your resolutions to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-oriented can increase your chances of achieving the end goal.