Resolutions versus Goals

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I won’t say I’ve never done it, but it isn’t my normal practice. Instead, I set monthly writing goals.

As I see it, New Year’s resolutions are either achieved or broken. A resolution to drink a quart of water every day is broken the first time you drink anything less. And a resolution to lose ten pounds during the year can lull you into thinking you have twelve months to achieve it, so you don’t have any reason to be motivated until the year is almost over.

Goals are both more flexible and more forgiving. They say, “here is what I want to get done” rather than “here is what I resolve to do.” If circumstances change or life interferes, goals can be extended, modified, or even eliminated. If you simply fail to meet them, you can try again next month.

I set monthly writing goals and post them on the upper left-hand side of the bulletin board over my desk. That way, they are always there to remind me what I want to get done during the month. I have longer-term goals, too, but breaking them down into monthly pieces makes the task less daunting. And if it is less daunting, I am more likely to accomplish it.

Do I always succeed? Of course not. Some months I meet every single goal, and other months I miss on one or two. But during the year I get more done by setting monthly goals than I would by relying on New Year’s resolutions.

Or I could do both, but then I’d be depressed on January 2^nd when I broke the first resolution.

So I’ll stick with my monthly goals.