Many people feel compelled to make New Year’s Resolutions each and every year. There is something about opening up that new calendar that inspires us to want to make a fresh start and vow to lose weight, pay off credit card bills, clean up the cluttered garage or finally paint the guest room.
While New Year’s Resolutions may seem like a great idea in late December, they can quickly fall by the wayside with the stress of the holiday season, the cold and gloomy weather and having the kids home from school. This can make us feel disappointed in ourselves and that we have failed to meet our goals.
Here is some great news: Resolutions can be made at any time of the year. In fact, as we are getting into fall, it may be an even better time to revisit your goals and tackle at least a couple of them now.
Now is a Great Time to Start Exercising
Resolutions related to health and wellness are often the most easily forgotten. It can be hard to get motivated to go outside for a brisk walk when the snow is falling or the rain is coming down in sheets. Even if your original goal of exercising five times a week didn’t get off the ground, you can certainly revisit this intention to take better care of yourself, starting today. Fall is a wonderful time of year to get out and exercise; the hot days of summer are gone and the temperatures and nice and moderate. You can also modify your original goal—perhaps five days a week is not realistic with your current schedule; if this is the case, shoot for two to three exercise sessions a week for 15 minutes a pop. Consider using a weight loss app that’s designed to support your healthy habits and help you track your progress.
Look Into That Part-Time Job
If you have vowed for as many New Years as you can remember to pay off your credit card debt but the bills are still piling up, it may be time to assess why this goal has not happened yet. If the main problem is a lack of money, it might be better to re-frame your resolution and decide to get a part-time job that will bring in some more cash. Consider contacting a previous employer or client for contract work, walking dogs through an app like Rover, or getting into direct sales by partnering with an established company. Amway is not a pyramid scheme (some sales opportunities are) but a legitimate business opportunity to set your own hours and earn money either online or in person.
Once you have your side hustle up and running, you can vow to pay a certain amount of your monthly earnings towards your credit card bills. To help you to stay on track, you might consider downloading an app like Meet Tally, an automated debt manager that makes it easy to manage your credit cards and pay down your balances quickly.
Tackle that Clutter and Household Projects
Another reason that New Year’s Resolutions can fail is because they are too general. If your “clean out the garage” or “paint the guestroom” goals didn’t materialize, consider breaking them down into more manageable chunks like “Work on the garage for 20 minutes a day” or “Buy paint and supplies this week.” Fall is a great time to tackle these kinds of projects because the nicer weather means you can have the windows open while painting and the garage door up while sorting through your stuff.
You’ve Got This!
By remembering that resolutions can be set any time of the year, you will be well on your way to meeting your goals. Now is the ideal time to reassess what you hope to accomplish and use the combo of the nice weather and back to school time, along with some apps and smaller, more manageable tasks, to get your resolutions back on track.
