Notes: This blog was recently updated on January 5, 2022. It was originally written on January 7, 2021.
Do you have trouble sticking to your new year’s resolutions?
A couple of years ago, I made a resolution that *THIS* was the year I was going to lose weight, start exercising and get in shape. I got a new exercise video to use. I planned to get up early to work out every morning.
That lasted about a week before life got in the way.
And when it did, I felt terrible. I had plenty of motivation, but I was already over-committed and trying to fit my new goal into a jam-packed schedule, which also included one child who wasn’t yet sleeping through the night.
Adding a new goal to the mix was too much and had left me exhausted.
Similar things happen when setting career goals.
You vow that you’re going to have a difficult conversation you’ve been putting off with your manager, but it doesn’t happen.
You decide that this is the year you’re going to find a job that you can love.
Maybe you just decide that you’re going to update your LinkedIn profile, yet 6 months later you haven’t been able to find the time.
All these promises you’ve broken with yourself add up.
When you set goals and don’t achieve them, it drains your professional confidence because you learn not to trust yourself. You don’t believe that you CAN accomplish those big things in your life.
Those broken promises lead to what I call mental brain trash. Doubts in your abilities start to appear more frequently, telling you “you can’t do it”, “why are you being so ambitious?” or “why should I bother to even set goals this year.”
I don’t want that to be you. Here are 3 easy things to do BEFORE you think about setting goals so that you can be successful in both setting them and making them stick.
DO THESE 3 THINGS BEFORE SETTING GOALS SO THEY’LL STICK
If you want your New Year’s resolutions to stick, the three things you need to do before you make any new goals are:
#1 Clear out the clutter
Clutter - either mental or physical - always creates unconscious anxiety and mental stress, even if you don’t acknowledge it. It can also create conscious anxiety when you’re tripping over your kids’ toys or partners’ stuff that have somehow made it into your work-from-home workspace or the piles of papers sitting on your desk that have been sitting there for the last month.
Write down a list of all lingering items. Now, look at those items, and make one of three decisions:
Decide they are not important and don’t need to be done at all (and cross them off your list).
Schedule time in your calendar to finish them.
Delegate them.
There are three types of clutter you’ll want to follow this process with as follows:
Mental: When you’ve got a revolving list of to-dos in your head or even on paper, it doesn’t leave space for you to think about – let alone achieve – the big goals you want to achieve this year. Clear out lingering items before you jump into goal setting.
Relational: You’ve got email newsletters you don’t read cluttering up your inbox. You’ve got someone you’re friends with on social media who is always posting things that bring you down or make you feel like you’re not good enough. You’ve got a coworker who is constantly complaining.
Unsubscribe, unfollow, and limit your interactions with those people. They are pulling you down, and when you allow them into your life in large doses, you are allowing more of that mental brain trash we talked about a moment ago to keep you stuck.
Physical: Clean up that workspace. Even if you’re working from home on the kitchen table, get everything off that table except the things you actually need to work.
#2 Use the “no” list to eliminate
How do you want to show up better in the world moving forward? Make a list of things you’re going to say no to or stop doing so that you can make time for your goals.
As one example: I used to spend at least 3 hours a week physically going to the grocery store and grocery shopping. I started ordering grocery delivery instead. Assuming an 8-hour work day, that is 19 ½ days per year (more than 3 work weeks!) I have regained and can use to move towards my goals.
What could you accomplish for yourself if you had 3-4 extra work weeks per year?
Find your time and mental energy sucks and ask yourself: “Is it actually important that I do this”
Here’s an example of my “No” list:
#3 Check in on basic self-care
Self-care is a work in progress for me and I don’t claim to have it all together. I’m a work in progress and sometimes a struggle.
I can say with absolute certainty that if I don’t get enough sleep, water, movement, or when I eat like crap that I feel terrible. It affects every aspect of my work and life.
When I’m exhausted or not fueling my body appropriately, I experience brain fog and things take twice as long to get done.
Here are the four questions I use and you can use to check in with yourself:
Are you getting enough sleep? (At least 8 hours)
Are you drinking enough water? (At least your body weight in ounces)
Are you moving at least a little bit throughout the day? (10,000 steps/day)
Are you fueling your body for its best performance with food?
If you’re struggling with any of these areas, this is the FIRST place to focus before you set your goals. Your body needs rest, hydration, movement, and nutrition for good performance; get these moving in the right direction before you add any new goals.
Now it’s your turn.
Try these out, and tell me in the comments below how they worked for you! I especially want to know what is on YOUR “No” list.
