5 Habits to Put In Place to Maintain You New Year’s Resolutions
It’s that time of year again! For many, the opportunity for a fresh start to become the best version of yourself is exciting. For many of us though, it can feel overwhelming more than anything else. With the pressure to be perfect, it usually ends in giving up the first time we fall short. While it’s difficult to maintain resolutions, with these five tips, we will help you form long-term habits to be successful in achieving goals, rather than just trying to cut bad habits out cold turkey to get to where you want to be.
1. Set smaller goals instead of one big goal.
Whether your goal is to live a healthier lifestyle, get a promotion, pay off debt, or something else, it’s better to set small milestones that aren’t so daunting. Setting the goal to cut out sweets for the entire year, or being debt-free by the end of 2020 is far-off, and can lead to giving up when you’ve barely even started. Instead, set smaller goals such as going two weeks without Starbucks or dessert, or setting a budget for the month. That way, the end goal is in sight. This type of reachable goal will improve lifestyle habits without completely cutting out the things you enjoy.
2. Write down your resolutions and put them in a place you will see often.
Avoid the “out of sight, out of mind” mentality by keeping a post-it note on your desk at work, or on your bathroom mirror with your goal. The more you see it, the more you can remain focused on your resolution and remember it when the going gets tough. Keeping your resolution top of mind will help keep you accountable and focused on the bigger picture when making smaller decisions.
3. Reward yourself for milestones.
Celebrating small successes will give you the momentum to keep on top of long-term resolutions. Give yourself something to reward all of your hard work. Stuck to your healthier eating habits all month? Treat yourself to frozen yogurt with a friend. Been kicking butt at work? Reward yourself with a massage or something else to celebrate the hard work you’ve put in. These small rewards will spur you on to keep going to reach your ultimate goal. If you make it to your 
end goal, you can reward yourself with something bigger, and will also have the positive lifestyle habits that you put in place to help you get there.
Our Home Clean Heroes Virginia Beach team set a goal of increasing their customer satisfaction score that’s determined through a survey sent out after service. They set an end goal number they wanted to reach. The employees were given rewards throughout the year to thank them for all of the hard work and excellent customer service they had provided, and to keep that momentum up. There was a happy hour with cake and gifts to thank the team for their hard work, and they were given off extra days around Thanksgiving to spend more time with family. Home Clean Heroes was able to meet their goal due to happy employees that did an incredible job throughout the year.
4. Keep negativity and temptations away.
This can be easier said than done, but you should cut out the areas that you can control that will potentially hold you back. If you’re eating healthier, get rid of all the unhealthy snacks laying around your house for when that sweet tooth kicks in at midnight. If you’re trying to think more positively, avoid the break room where you know people are gossiping and bringing others down. While opportunities will arise to break your resolutions, you have a better chance of staying on track with less of those opportunities putting themselves in your path.
5. Cut yourself some slack. If you break your resolution, make sure to get back on the horse immediately.
No one is perfect. You will most likely stumble, but that’s okay! Recognizing that you let yourself slip, but then staying strong and reflecting on all of the patterns you’ve been working hard to put in place is the best thing you can do.
We hope that these tips will help you put some long-term practices into place to help you achieve your goals and keep resolutions on track!
