New Year, New You: 4 Tips to Keep Your Resolutions

The new year has finally arrived. If you still suffer from a holiday hangover, and are finding it hard to tune yourself back into work mode, you might want to pause for a while, take a deep breath and take a moment to remind yourself of your new year’s resolutions and all the things you want to achieve this year. It may help you find your focus again.

When we set our resolutions for the new year, most of us would like to become a better person, whether it is by going to the gym more often, reading more books, or being kinder and helping more people. Some of your resolutions may also be financial in nature, such as saving or investing more money for retirement.

Whatever your targets are for this year, I think we can all agree that what is more important is our persistence in achieving those goals. It is often the case where, on New Year’s morning, we think hard and come up with a long list of resolutions, but come mid January, we’ve all lost the will to stick to them. If this sounds too familiar and if you are among those who have started to find it hard to keep your resolutions so early in the game, here are a few tips to help you bounce back:

Review your goals and set realistic ones

If you are a slow reader, setting a target to read three-four books a month might be too far-fetched. One or two might be a much more manageable number for you.

Start small

Maybe this year you want to save a certain amount of money towards retirement. Starting small can help you reach this goal. It’s the same with investing. Nowadays you can find investment opportunities online that do not require a lot of money; in Mekar, you only need as little as Rp 1 million to start an investment. Over time, you can invest a larger amount of money to earn the investment return you have set as your target in the beginning of the year.

Keep track

Research has shown that one is more likely to keep his or her resolutions if they regularly monitor their progress. Use an app or a diary to record your daily or weekly progress towards your goal.

Don’t beat yourself up too much

So you skipped gym today. It’s no big deal. Don’t over criticize yourself for it. Instead, motivate yourself to keep working towards your goal and remember to congratulate and reward yourself the next time you hit the gym again.