It's fun to think back on the previous year and then to look ahead to the next when making New Year's resolutions. But all too often, these are just vague aspirations that end up quickly fading. Your good intentions can become much more if you put a plan in place and follow it. Here are some tried and true strategies to turn broad resolutions into laser-focused aims that you actually achieve. 

Choose One Target

The saying “you can’t ride two horses with one ass” is comical if you picture it played out, but it’s also true. One of the key reasons that up to 91 percent of resolutions turn to dust well before the next New Year is simply target confusion. Most people have a tendency to try and apply a multitasking lens to the changes they want to see in their life or career, overwhelm themselves, and end up accomplishing none of them.

James Clear, author of the seminal book Atomic Habits, suggested a simple antidote to this particular poison in a blog post on why behavioral changes often fail: “Personally, I prefer to focus on building one new behavior into my life at a time. Once that habit becomes routine, then I move on to the next one. For example, I spent six months focusing on going to the gym every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Once that felt like a routine, then I moved on to my next habit, which was writing a new article every Monday and Thursday. This time, I spent eight months focusing on the new habit until it became part of my lifestyle. Next, I moved on to flossing every day. And so on. You get the idea.”

To put Clear’s wise counsel into practice, write out your entire list of resolutions for this year. Next, begin prioritizing them so that the most important goals bubble to the top. Then commit to your top pick and resolve to only focus on it until you’ve started to make meaningful change in this area. You can switch your focus to whatever’s in the number two spot.

Quit Daydreaming and Anticipate Roadblocks

One of the most enjoyable things when considering resolutions is thinking about what the end point could be. That could be imagining how you’ll look in the mirror if you stick to going to the gym at least three times a week, or conjuring up an image of you and your significant other on a Caribbean beach if you get that promotion you’re determined to finally snag this year.

Yet while it seems like an enjoyable exercise, fantasizing like this can actually be counterproductive. According to Eric Barker, author of the bestselling book Barking Up the Wrong Tree, daydreaming makes your mind think you’ve actually achieved the end point, sapping your motivation. He even cited research by New York University psychology professor Gabriele Oettingen to back up his point.

So what would Barker have you do instead? In an article on his website, he asserted, “Thinking about obstacles. Next time you catch yourself fantasizing about Future You — shredded abs, bestselling memoir, a closet full of clothes that actually fit — stop. Slap yourself metaphorically and ask: ‘What’s going to screw this up, and how do I deal with it?’ Because the real secret to success here isn’t imagining a better version of yourself. It’s figuring out how to keep going when everything inevitably goes sideways.”

Per Barker’s advice, come up with a list of everything that could derail your most important resolution. Then assign at least one contingency to each potential pitfall. This way, you won’t be blindsided by unexpected problems and will be confident in your ability to push through when things don’t go according to your initial plan A.  

Keep Your Goals Visible

Unless you have the legendary, ironclad self-motivation of someone like former Navy SEAL turned podcaster, author, and entrepreneur Jocko Willink, your desire to stick to your resolutions can wax and wane. Part of the reason for this is that even with noble intentions, the busyness of each day can crowd out that one thing you’re determined to improve this year. If you don’t come up with ways to remind yourself that this resolution needs to stay a priority, it soon won’t be.

In a piece for Psychology Today, Harry Cohen, psychologist, executive coach, restaurateur, and author of Be The Sun, Not The Salt, offered a way to surmount this common form of resolution sabotage, “Create visual cues, like placing a water bottle on your desk as a reminder to hydrate or posting affirmations where you’ll see them regularly. Writing your goals down and placing them in high-traffic areas of your home — like on the fridge or near your workspace — can also strengthen the connection between visual cues and resolution success. These gentle nudges reinforce habits and make resolutions harder to ignore.”

Cohen went on to cite a 2020 study led by Swedish researchers who showed that marking a calendar every time you successfully perform a task related to your resolution will make you more likely to stick to it. This is the same kind of operant conditioning approach that proactive parents use to reinforce their kids’ positive behavior.  And there’s nothing childish about encouraging your progress toward achieving your goals – no matter how lofty your ambitions might be.