New Year, Same Me

One of the hardest things about New Years Resolutions is that we make them but never keep up with. Every new year, I swear I’m going to be a new Aicha and lose 50 pounds, organize my whole life, and save a million dollars by the end of it. But by February 1st, I convince myself that none of that was that big of a deal anyway and I just quit. I’m starting to realize that this happens because of two reasons: 1. My resolutions are unrealistic and 2. My resolutions don’t come with a plan. This year, I want to find and share tools that help us all achieve realistic goals.

Setting SMART Goals

I recently learned about SMART goals. If you haven’t heard of them either, SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable/Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound goals. So, for example, if I just say I want to lose 50 pounds, it’s not realistic or planned. With SMART, I would say I want to lose 30 pounds (which is more measurable and realistic) by November 24th, 2019 (which is time-bound) by increasing my daily water-intake to 8 glasses a day, cutting my portion sizes, and exercising 3-times a week at the YMCA near my house (which is smart and achievable). See how setting a plan can give you a better place to start?

Planning and Organizing Your 2019

Another goal of mine this new year is to become more organized. That’s so general and broad, though. So I realized that I need to find a way to organize as many parts of my life as I can. For example, I have already started organizing my house. I went out and bought a bunch of organizing cubes and baskets for the closets and the pantry in the house. I realized that it’s easier to stay organized when everything has a place. I’ve also done the same for my office. My car is next! Try to design a system in all of your spaces that helps you keep track of where things go. That way, you’re not always frantically trying to find stuff and it makes cleaning a hundred times easier.

Planners work for some people, but they don’t work for me. Every year, I buy a planner in January and I swear I’m gonna use it. One year, I spent $30 on a really nice customized planner. Guess how many months I wrote in it? January. Lol and guess how organized my life was? Barely. I didn’t carry the planner with me all the time and sometimes it was hard to keep track of everything in it. So I started keeping notes in my phone and using the calendar in my phone because I realized I always have that with me and I can set reminders. You can even download planner apps on your phone based on your needs. I highly recommend trying that if physical planners don’t work for you.

Getting Over the Slumps

It can be so disappointing when you quit your New Years resolutions by February. It makes you want to just give up, but I’m learning that it’s okay to slack sometimes as long as you get back on track. My diet is probably gonna get messed up by my pregnancy cravings, especially since I’m due in February. But if that happens, I can at least promise myself to try again in March instead of quitting. My house and my office are definitely gonna get messy again, but if I have my system already in place, I’ll just get everything organized again when I have the time.

Make your resolution for 2019 not to quit any of the goals you set. Try out SMART goals and come back and let me know what you think. Comment below one SMART goal you can set for yourself in 2019. What are some of your fears, hopes and dreams this year?