You Can Do This! 5 Ways to Make Resolutions That Stick

Happy New Year! It's a beautiful day of hope, renewal, and self-reflection. Many people contact us and join our program to get organized during this time. It's a smart and rewarding endeavor! However, many people make the mistake of setting themselves up for disappointment by not being realistic with their resolutions for change.  

Here are five guidelines for setting resolutions that stick long term, based on what I have seen about people’s setbacks in the past:

• Take on only small amounts of change at one time. I once knew a sedentary meat-eater and smoker who decided to quit smoking, take up an exercise program, and become a vegetarian all at once. I am sure you can guess how that turned out! It was full speed ahead, and then at the first “failure,” the attempts were seen as completely futile and all was lost. We must add new habits and make changes on a slower, more realistic basis. If you are trying to get organized, start with just one project that will give you immediate success and visible results that affect your daily life, like your primary wardrobe closet, and use the momentum from that success to propel you forward into more. (See our "31 tips for 31 days" calendar handout for lots of great "baby steps" to help you!)
• Get support—it’s the missing link and the secret to success! In our Clutter Diet® online program and my book, we talk about three things that are necessary for personal change: Motivation, Education, and Support. Most people get motivated, learn what they need to do and how to do it, and completely forget about or ignore the support factor. Having accountability to someone else is one of the most powerful ways to persevere through the difficulties that come with change. Get a friend to be your “Accountability Partner” or “Motivation Partner,” so that you can support and encourage each other through the tough times. Weight Watchers® has known this for years—that is why they have meetings in person and “weigh-ins” to hold you accountable for your results.
• Don’t compare yourself to an unrealistic ideal. What “organized” means for you is going to be different than for your neighbor, for your mother-in-law, and for the experts you see on TV. Please remember that what you typically see on TV and in magazines has been elaborately staged and planned for effect. It is not how real people live and is not realistic.
• Watch out for “All or Nothing” thinking. The aspiring non-smoking vegetarian I mentioned above fell prey to this poisonous thinking—that you are either completely on or completely off a program of change. Just because you have a messy laundry room this week that does not mean that you are now completely hopeless and you need to give up on ever being organized! Keep in mind the image of a business graph with a line that zig-zags up and down but always trends upward and to the right. The business is growing steadily and making progress, but each “zag” in the line shows a temporary setback. The important thing to remember is progress over time. Keep going! Do NOT give up.
• Have a strong, compelling reason for making change. In the long run, change is only successful if you have a reason for doing it. Your “why” is the wind in your sails that keeps you going when times are tough. You might be determined to not pattern your life after your parents, or you might be determined to show your children a better way of living. You might have health problems that resulted from stress, and getting organized means you can get some relief. Whatever your compelling reasons are, keep them in the front of your mind, especially when you are feeling discouraged.

What is your "why"? And what are some of the other resolutions you've made this year? Share in the comments! Some of my resolutions: To spend some time on Facebook (I have been staying away but want to come back in a controlled amount each week so I won't miss out on so much with my friends!)… To watch as little television as possible…To spend more one-on-one time with my boys. How about you?

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(This is an edited version of the January article I wrote for Connections for Women, a great site that I contribute to monthly. Click here to read the full version on their site.)