Empower Your New Years Resolutions into Guaranteed Achievable Ambition

Almost every New Year’s, we set resolutions that encapsulate all our desires and hopes for the coming year. This gives us meaning to accomplish a new task. Some of the most popular resolutions are losing weight and starting a business. Gym memberships are imperative to “hit” this goal. Fitness centers all filled the first few weeks of the New Year. This is also the reason I personally take off working out in January. It is too difficult to wait for a treadmill. By mid-February, the crowds at the gym have started to diminish. US News, reported in 2015, that 80% of resolutions failed by mid-February. Instead of starting slowly, people set workout goals like a professional marathon runner. There are two way this ends, injury or burnout.

Unfortunately, the same trend happens with businesses. We go full force into our work. This seems like a great idea! We are staying up until 2am to finish incorporation paperwork, launching our blog, and trying to make that first sale.  Within a month, from lack of sleep there is little energy to keep going, so we quit. We will try again next year. This is an absolute problem.

This is why resolutions are very, very bad. It is wonderful to have ideas; however, turn your business dream into a goal instead. Forbes defines goals as more specific and action oriented. Resolutions are vague. We have to be able to turn our dreams into lists, plans, and steps to achieve our vision. It has been said the reason resolutions fail is it causes too much stress. I believe this is inadvertently true. We need a plan!

Be aggressive at setting up a plan.

Yesterday, I spent a few hours coming up with 52 weeks of blog posts for 2022. My husband was wondering what I was doing writing so rapidly in my planner. Trust me, the side eye was real. Afterwards, the next step was to figure out how to turn each blog post idea into a week’s worth of marketing material. Today, I’m writing about resolutions versus goals. Day 1 of the plan is in full action. The best part is my stress level is pretty low. I feel like this is a workable achievable task. Last year, I would spend hours trying to derive new material each day. It was completely inefficient.

Plan it out

While this appears to be a simple step. It takes time to be organized, much longer than anticipated.  There are a couple of items that are helpful to speed up the process. First, ToddleDo is the best online task software. [link] I’ve been using it for years for work and personal. You can input all your tasks, allocate time each day or week to focus on each task, and get reminders when to start on the next item. It’s pretty easy. I concentrate on one item at a time without feeling overwhelmed. Second, I try to be a little more creative. My Happy Planner lets me draw my plan in another format, i.e. scribble. It is really helpful to brainstorm in freewheeling notebook. The process that works for you is anything resulting in a step-by-step plan. Take the scribbles and turn it into a business plan. A resolution cannot get you to this point, only establishing and setting goals works. Once the plan is finally on paper, you should sleep on it.

Take a Break

It’s easy to push forward at all costs until your goal is reached. The problem is that! is unsustainable. Burnout is real and comes on quickly. Remember 80% of resolutions fail within 45 days. Most businesses fail within the first year. You have to stay steady. There will be weeks when you have the energy to work tirelessly into the night. Trust me, I know! That’s how I write about staying up until 2am sometimes [link]. However, I do burnout too. The best practice is to schedule breaks in your routine. Along with your new business goal, schedule a vacation and time away from work. When starting a new business, it is stressful. Even when you Launch in 30 Days [link], there is a lot to do, more to sustain, and even additional projects to grow. Business is constantly evolving, competitors are always entering the markets, and revenue can fluctuate. Yes, if you want to start a business it is important to know revenue is not predictable in the beginning. This all causes lots of stress, which leads to burnout. Take my advice. It is better to spend time to recharge with family, hobbies, quiet time, sleep, etc. Pretty much anything that is not your business. This also helps you keep the joy and excitement going about your new business. Hopefully, we can all make it more than 45 days.

To paraphrase: Be aggressive to create a series of tasks that lead to your goal, while taking time to live your life. Start up and success will soon follow. I’ve done this a few times now, Healthcare Deciphered and GoBusinessMomGo, so I know all too well how quickly the burnout comes if you do not set the right goals.