Welcome to 2022! A new year is a refreshing new start, so it’s time to put last year’s troubles behind and march onwards to a brighter future.

How you begin your year sets the tone for the remaining twelve months, so it’s important to start off on the right foot. One way to do so is to have a few goals that you can work towards over the course of the year. They could be in terms of health, relationships, finance, personal development or anything you want!

However, did you know that only about 10% of people keep their new year resolutions? Why is it that we get so excited to make goals, but so few of us succeed in achieving them? 

The way we plan our goals can significantly influence our results. Here are five tips to help you make new year resolutions for 2022 that you’ll actually achieve!

Tip #1: Set fewer goals (3 is a good number).

One of the major problems with new year resolutions is that people get too ambitious and make too many. You may be full of energy at the start of the year, but keep in mind that you’ll have to keep this up for 365 days! Don’t wear yourself out by making too many goals that you end up not achieving any of them. You can write a list of around just three goals and keep them in a place where you’ll frequently see them as a reminder.

Tip #2: Make your goals specific and break down the steps. 

When goals are too vague, like “I want to lose weight”, it’s not measurable. You want to make your goals as specific as possible, so you know exactly what you’re aiming for. For example, if your goal for 2022 is to get into the online English teaching industry, you can break down your goal into the following steps:

1. Get a 40h TEFL certificate online.

i) Register the first week of January. 

ii) Complete 10 hours a week. 

iii) Get the certificate by February. 

2. Apply for online English teaching jobs in February. 

3. Prepare for the interview. 

4. Get hired by the end of February. 

If you don’t follow your exact timeline, it’s okay. The important thing is to have a plan, but be flexible.

Tip #3: Make it easier for yourself to get started. 

Humans are natural procrastinators and the more daunting a task seems, the longer we’ll put it off. So make it easier for yourself to get started by setting the bar lower and making preparations in advance. For example, if your goal is to learn another language in 2022, rather than planning from the getgo to study 3 hours a day, just make a goal of studying 20 minutes a day. Once you get started, you may continue studying longer, but you’ve already surpassed the hardest part, which is starting.

Similarly, if your goal is to go to the gym 3 times a week, have your gym outfit and shoes ready to go by the door. That way, you can just pick them up as you head out rather than give yourself time to decide you no longer want to go as you look for all those items. The easier you make it on yourself to start working on your goals, the more likely you’ll keep working on them, eventually achieving them. 

Tip #4: Find support.

Finding people who have been successful at doing what you want to do is a great motivator. They’ve already been through what you’ll be going through and can give you tips based on their experience. Having a support group of people who are on the same journey is also very helpful. You can encourage each other and work together towards a common goal. 

For example, if one of your goals is to become a digital nomad in 2022, you can join some online communities of digital nomads on social media and participate in the discussions. The more support you have in your journey, the more enjoyable the journey will be. 

Tip #5: Track your goals and reward yourself. 

There are a ton of goal tracker apps available on your mobile device, but you can also do this manually on a sheet of paper. Simply check off the days that you worked on your goals and use this as a visual motivator to keep you going. You can build in a reward system as well so that when you complete a streak of a certain number of days, you can treat yourself to something nice. 

Keeping new year resolutions should not be difficult! With the right goal-setting strategies, you’ll be well on your way to achieving those goals in no time. But don’t be too hard on yourself if you miss a couple of days – even the people you admire the most do. 

What’s most important is that you get back to it and keep moving closer to your goals as the year progresses. Even if you don’t achieve your goals completely, you’ll still be much further than you started just because you tried!