It’s that time of year again: the holidays. Extra eating, extra spending, extra lying around watching football, Rudolph, or whatever show happens to catch your fancy. Before you know it, it is December 31st – New Year’s Eve – a time of celebration and a time of change.

If you want this year to be different… if you want your first New Year’s resolution of 2005 to be: “This year I will keep my New Year’s resolutions,” then what you need most is a little foresight.

Read on for a few simple guidelines to consider when choosing your New Year’s Resolutions for 2005.

Get Specific
Typical New Year's resolutions are ones we recycle year after year. I want to lose weight. I want a better job. I want to spend more time with the kids. These seem to be the same resolutions we’ve had for years – and they’re always incomplete. They are just too vague.

For resolutions to work, they have to be thought out and have real meaning. If not, they will forever remain on your wish list (along with horoscopes and fortune cookies). They are seen as goals that are beyond your reach and beyond your control.

The solution? Get specific.

Instead of saying “I want to lose weight.” Say “I want to lose ten pounds by Easter.” Or “I want to fit into a size six by Memorial Day.”

Instead of saying “I want a better job.” Say “I want to be promoted to Assistant Manager by the end of the year.”

Give yourself a specific goal with a specific deadline.

Get Real
Another common pitfall that sinks resolutions is that they’re unrealistic. Coming off the holiday rush, we often feel renewed and full of vigor, ready to tackle anything (if we’re not broke, stressed, bushed, or miserable – in which case, see this month’s article on Seasonal Affective Disorder). Such self-confidence is both good and bad. It gives us the courage to look at ourselves objectively and recognize some things that need to be improved. But it also gives us the false impression that we’re capable of achieving everything at once.

It’s important to keep in mind that the more significant the goal, the bigger the commitment it will take to meet it. We must be prepared for the time and energy required to succeed. How often have we made major plans, only to give up when change is not immediate or if we temporarily slide back into our old habits?

When making your New Year’s resolutions this year, be realistic. Know ahead of time how much of a commitment you can make. It might be better to have just one resolution if it’s a significant one like running a marathon. It’s often better to achieve one large task than a series of smaller ones.

If you don’t have the time or energy necessary to achieve a large task, pick a couple smaller ones that are more manageable. You should focus on just one goal at a time, instead of attempting to break several habits all on January 1st. You could be setting yourself up for failure.

Get It In Writing
Writing down your New Year’s resolutions will help you immeasurably in seeing them through.

First of all, it will help you achieve the first two guidelines above. Have you ever tried to write down an unclear plan? Hemingway once said that all a writer needs is a “shock-proof, built-in B.S. detector” – well, the same could be said for a resolution maker. Writing down your New Year’s resolutions will help you avoid vague and unrealistic goals. It will also help you meet them.

If you get creative with your resolutions list, you might even find yourself having fun with it. And when was the last time you failed to complete something that was fun?

So, take an honest look at yourself, decide how big of a commitment you can make, and choose your goals accordingly. By putting in the legwork now, you can hit the ground running on January 1st and be in that bathing suit by Memorial Day.