New Year's Resolutions: Monday is the new January

Time's flying by. Being an 80s kid, I still remember the 90s as if they were yesterday. But today it's January 2012, that time of year when many of us make pledges to improve upon our former self.

While New Year's resolutions are made with great enthusiasm, they often result in a vague, hazy memory by the time March rolls around, inadvertently demoting New Year's resolutions to a mere cliché.

So, what's the solution to seeing your commitments through? How do you ensure that when December 31st arrives you can smugly tell yourself "I DID IT"?

Like any fully understood problem there's not one simple solution. Usually when there's a problem or issue to deal with it's because lots of smaller things have built up to from that problem. This is very important, as a deviation from the finer details will loosen your grip of control in favour of the universe's random outcome.

Now that the easy part is over — announcing your resolutions to friends while holding a glass of wine — it's time to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard.....

A specific and structured plan

In a recent study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Professor EJ Masicampo found that committing to a specific plan makes it more likely to be achieved. Simply adding more commitments to an already challenging schedule is unrealistic and is merely a recipe for a short-lived change because something always has to give.

Instead, a wiser, more durable approach would be to plan ahead. Below are seven points, followed by three stages (drafts) which should all be taken into consideration whilst constructing a strong plan.

Seven Points

1) The foundations of your plan should be: sleeping 8-9 hours consistently; eating 4-5 meals daily; and drinking plenty of water. After all, if you don't look after the machine (you) there's no hope.

2) Follow the AIMS principles: Achievable; Important; Measureable; Specific.

(The following use of the AIMS principle utilises the goal of losing weight)

Achievable – set goals that are realistic. Attempting to lose half a stone in two weeks shall probably result in a failed attempt. Create smaller steps which can be met.

Important – How important is your goal to you? Important enough to make adjustments in your life? Focus your energy on tackling the challenges that really matter.

Measureable - Use: weight scales; measuring tape; tight clothing; the mirror; photographs; to analyse your progress. It's important to record your findings and not merely try and remember them. Measuring tape can be used to note parts of the body individually. Tight clothing, how did those jeans feel? Was I able to get into them? The mirror should be used with a consistent lighting set up in the interest of accuracy and photographs can be collected to build a history of progress – before and after.

Specific – When planning avoid using vague terms such as: look better; sort weight out; firm up. Instead specify your goals clearly on paper: drop from a size 14 to a size 12; place two stones of muscular tissue; achieve a six pack. The clarity shall improve your focus.

3) Break down your goals into types: Micro (one week), Meso (six months) and Macro (one year). At each stage sit down and see whether you've met your targets.

Failing to meet a target is not the end of the world. Firstly, avoid beating yourself up about it and get back on track by re-visiting your plan and making a couple of tweaks to update it. If you were meant to have lost 1kg between week 3 and 4 then try and redouble your efforts to catch up between weeks 4 and 5. If you must then adjust the plan, but avoid making this a habit as you are meant to be following the plan, not the other way around!

4) Have incentives to meet your resolutions. Treat yourself by rewarding good behaviour.

5) Control the cues in your environment that can sabotage your goals. If you're trying to lose weight: stock your kitchen cupboards up with the right foods; choose to meet people in locations that don't serve high-calorie drinks; be physically active whenever possible (stairs instead of lift).

6) Don't adopt an all-or-nothing attitude. If you fall off the wagon pick yourself up and go back to the plan. How you handle a lapse is crucial. An unsuccessful quitter tends to view a single smoked cigarette as evidence that they just do not have the willpower to persevere. A successful quitter, on the other hand, might search for situational causes leading to the momentary failure, such as the presence of a smoking friend.

7) Make Monday the day to recommit to your resolution, evaluate progress and set your goals for the coming week. Think of Monday as the January of the week. Sid Lerner, Chairman of the Monday Campaigns, an initiative in association with Columbia and Syracuse Universities, says: "It is a call to action built into every calendar, giving you 52 chances for success."

Draft 1

Start with bullet points, writing any ideas that pass through your mind, any goals or changes which sound attractive, your first draft should be written in a relaxed state, avoid eliminating things prematurely, include everything.

Draft 2

Now that the brainstorming session is over it's time to refine your ideas. The objective here is to place all the material from the prior draft through a sieving process, removing points that are not achievable, important, measurable or specific (AIMS)

Draft 3

The final stage should deal with designating targets; by which date will I have lost my first 2kg of weight? By what point would I have lost an additional 3kg? By which date will I have reached my final desired physique?

Shifting to new habits

To accommodate new habits, it may be necessary to remove old ones that consume your resources while providing no gains: emotionally; mentally; healthily; fiscally. There are only 15-16 hours per day – providing you're getting that beauty sleep in – so remove any dead weight on your precious time.

Living everyday and the hard truth

Ultimately, time is incredibly finite so it really is now or never. Let's put this into perspective.

The average UK lifespan is 82 years for females and 77.9 years for males (Office for National Statistics 2007-2009). Here's where I try to galvanise you into action with some hard-hitting figures. Taking the average of both the female and male life expectancy rates, the number of days we're expected to live is just 29,200 days!

Factoring in the days that we've already lived, here are some more quantifiable, hard-hitting realities:

20 years old: 21,900 days remaining

25 years old: 20,075 days remaining

30 years old: 18,250 days remaining

35 years old: 16,425 days remaining

40 years old: 14,600 days remaining

45 years old: 12,775 days remaining

50 years old: 10,950 days remaining

Ok I think I've made my point, so I'll soften the tone.

Hold on hope

Hope often gets a tough ride in the UK, regularly conjuring images of blissful naivety in the eyes of a cynic — which is a shame. But there's a lot to be said for old-fashioned hope.

In 1991, the eminent positive psychologist Charles R. Snyder and his colleagues came up with 'hope theory'. According to the theory, hope consists of 'agency and pathways'. The person who has hope has the will and determination that goals will be achieved. They have a set of different strategies at their disposal to reach their goals; put simply, hope involves the will to get there and different ways to get there.

Those lacking hope, on the other hand, may adopt what psychologists call Mastery Goals. People with Mastery Goals choose easy tasks that don't offer challenges or opportunity for growth. When they fail, they quit, as they feel helpless and a lack of control over their environment. They don't believe in their ability to obtain the kind of future they want and therefore lack hope.

And finally...

I'd reiterate the importance of planning and preparation, the continued effort of re-visiting your plan and meeting your targets. Each target that you hit will provide you with a private victory, which will feed your self-confidence and assist you in conquering more future challenges. Be resilient, be focused, be motivated and most of all be happy.

Have a Super Year!