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Posted by Beth Cubbage on January 14, 2019.
Don’t you just love the clean slate of a new year? It’s an opportunity to think about how the past year has gone and to start fresh. Whether you want to lose weight or write a book, run a marathon or keep up with the laundry, your Rocketbook will be the tool you need to stay on track with your New Year’s resolutions!
Step 1: Brainstorm
Before your even make your New Year’s resolutions, brainstorm some ideas. Write down the things that went well (and not so well) in the previous year. Make a list without thinking too hard about it.
Then start brainstorming ideas for New Year’s resolutions. Don’t limit yourself at this point - just write down whatever comes to mind. Your Rocketbook is perfect for this! Start with a clear notebook and fill as many pages as you need.
After your brainstorm, look back through your notes. What stands out? What would you most like to accomplish in the upcoming year? Do you want a goal for a few different areas, like health, career and relationships? Is there one big goal that will define the year (like finishing a major project or building a house)?
Need to erase your brainstorm so you can take other notes? Not to worry! Just upload your end of year brainstorm notes to your favorite cloud service and refer back to them at any time.
Step 2: Write Your Resolutions Somewhere Obvious
Once you’ve chosen your goals or resolutions for the upcoming year, write them down. If you’re like me, you tend to start strong on resolutions and then forget about them after a while - life just gets in the way sometimes. That’s why it’s so important to write down your resolutions. Neuroscience has shown that writing your goals down helps you achieve them!
To make sure you see your goals every day, mark them on the first page of your Rocketbook. You’ll flip past them every single time you go to take notes. This might just be the reminder you need to schedule your next workout or drink another glass of water.
Step 3: Make an Action Plan
Don’t just rely on long-term goals - make a short term, step-by-step plan. This has two awesome benefits. First, you’ll be much more likely to reach your big goals if you break them down into smaller goals.
A step-by-step approach has the added benefit of giving you quick wins. You’re much more likely to feel great about your progress if you can check “run 4 times a week” off your list in January rather than having a big future goal like “run a marathon” that’s not giving you much satisfaction now.
Your Rocketbook can help! If you use Rocketbook for time blocking, make sure to include your action steps in your weekly planning. You can also write out the steps in your plan on the “goals” page of your Rocketbook. For example, I have a goal to keep up with the laundry so I made a little schedule in my Rocketbook showing when to do sheets, towels, whites, etc. It’s so handy, and I never have to actually think about it again.
Step 4: Track Progress
One of the things I always struggle with about long-term goals is that it’s hard to see how far I’ve come! When progress is slow and steady, it’s easy to forget where you started and how much you’ve improved since the beginning.
Give yourself warm fuzzies by tracking your progress. You could write down your mile time every week or track your weight week over week. Whatever your goal, it will be fun to look back over weeks and months to see how far you’ve come!
With your Rocketbook at your side, making and tracking your New Year’s resolutions will be a piece of cake! Stay on track by writing them down, making an action plan and tracking your progress. This might just be your most rewarding year yet!
About the Author: Beth Cubbage is a consulting manager at a software company and mom to two girls. Beth has a PhD in Economics, which she uses to design various incentive programs for her kids’ bedtime (still working on that). When she isn’t wrangling work projects or family activities, Beth writes about career, productivity and parenting at ParentLightly.com. In her (very) spare time, Beth enjoys mountain biking, martial arts and obstacle races. Beth's Rocketbook Everlast helps keep her sane.
