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Fact: most New Year’s resolutions don’t make it past January 31. To be more precise, 80% of resolutions are left by the wayside by the second week of February.¹ That’s not very encouraging.

But, that does mean that 20% of resolutions do succeed for longer. Some even become habit, sticking around for years or decades. So what’s the secret? It might all come down to how you pick your New Year’s goals.

Set a S.M.A.R.T.er goal

Think about the resolutions you set in the past that didn’t work out. Did they sound something like, “lose weight” or “learn something new”? If so, that could be part of the problem.

These types of goals are often too vague. Making a big broad resolution sounds good, but it can be hard to follow through on. What exactly does this mean for your lifestyle? How will you track your progress? How can you tell if you’re succeeding?

All those unanswered questions could leave you overwhelmed. Your resolution might feel too big or too hard to follow through with. You might not know where to start. This could leave you discouraged and ready to throw in the towel before you even begin.

Instead of setting one big resolution, it might be better to pick a specific goal instead. One way to do this is by taking a S.M.A.R.T. approach. 

What is a S.M.A.R.T. goal?

In the business world, S.M.A.R.T. is a process used to set goals. But, it can also work for personal improvement as well.

Each letter of S.M.A.R.T. stands for a feature your resolution should have. Let’s use “get out of debt” as an example:

Specific – Goals should not only describe what you want to do, but also the steps you’ll need to take to get there. So instead of simply saying, “I want to be debt free this year,” add more detail. This could sound something like, “I will lower my credit card debt by $1,000 before 1 April by paying $50 over the minimum payment every month.”

Measurable – Having a goal you can track makes it easier to know what success will look like. In our example, this means lowering the credit card balance by $1,000.

Attainable – It’s great to set an ambitious goal, but if you’re not seeing success that can be discouraging. Lowering your credit card debt by $1,000 in four months could be a bit too hard. It might be better to tweak the goal to paying off $500 by April, and then setting a new resolution once you’ve succeeded with that.

Realistic – A good goal isn’t just attainable, you also have to want to reach it. If putting every extra dollar towards your debt means missing out on seeing friends, you’re probably not going to last long. Instead, pick a resolution that you’re able and willing to follow through with. That might mean rewording it a bit to sound more positive like, “I’ll stay in every other weekend and put $50 towards my credit card balance instead of getting takeaway or drinks at the pub.”

Timely – Finally, your resolution should have a time limit. That way, you’ll have an end date in mind to help motivate you. For our example, this is 1 April, but it could also be an event (a wedding, birthday, or planned holiday). Just make sure that your time frame isn’t too short—that might not be Attainable or Realistic—or so far away that you start to procrastinate! 

Could a S.M.A.R.T. resolution really work for me?

You’ll have to try one to find out! S.M.A.R.T. is just one tool that could help set you up for New Year’s resolution success. No matter what, you’ll need to put in some work to see your goals through to the end of the year, and beyond. But if you’re really serious about making a change—big or small—you could be well on your way to a better you!

1. Business Insider, 80% of New Year's resolutions fail by February — here's how to keep yours, January 2017

About the author: Dollar Insurance is all about making insurance as painless as possible, with easy to get funeral cover, for just $1 a day. 

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is of a general nature only and does not take into account your personal situation or goals. You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs and seek independent financial advice, if required, to ensure an insurance product is suitable for you.

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