The transition from one year to the next gets a lot of us thinking about resolutions, growth, and the areas in our lives where we want to improve, find gratitude for what we accomplished and generally just reflect back on the last 365 days. The fact that this year is also the end of a decade makes us even MORE aware of how far we’ve come and what sorts of goals we’re looking forward to crushing in 2020.
We did some quick Googling and there are statistics out there that show that only 8% of people actually keep and stick to their New Year’s Resolutions. While we’ve definitely had our fair share of broken resolutions (is anyone’s garage ever really organized??), we figured we’d share our list of resolutions for 2020 meant for real people—those of us who are busy, own their own business, have kids (or both!), and pets, and families, and generally find all of the #instaworthy lifestyle pics of other people supposedly knocking out their 25-item goal list totally unrealistic and unattainable.
2020 New Year’s Resolutions For The Rest of Us:
Work on a budget
After the pressure of the holidays are over is a great time to sit down and prioritize where our money goes. We’re not talking a 20-year plan, exactly, but just taking a few moments to take stock of where you’re at as you head into the new year can be a great way to figure out if you’re on track to meet some of your medium or longer-term goals. If you’re looking to connect with a financial planner or accountant to help you get your head around your money matters, we’ve got a few favorites!
Set A ‘Just For You’ Goal
The idea behind resolutions and goals are often focused on self-betterment or self-improvement. For those of us who are givers by nature, however, it can be hard to justify the time/money/effort spent to do something truly for ourselves. So this year, we challenge you to write down that one thing (small, large, whatever you think is realistic) that you’re going to do for yourself this year and then commit to it. A good goal is easy to measure and easy to attainable so think of something that you know you can do. Maybe it’s getting to one more Yoga class than you did last year or finding time to bake bread in your own home one weekend. Whatever it is, write it down on paper and make it happen!
Fix One Pesky House Project
You know the type—the house project that just keeps getting pushed down the list over and over and over again. Well, now is the time to tackle it. If a needing a new furnace or A/C unit has been keeping you up at night (because you’re cold, hot, or just know it needs to be done), we’ve got some awesome financing options and payment plans to make it attainable. And think how good it will feel to have that knocked off of your to-do list, once and for all!
Reconnect
Life is full of ways to stay busy, busy, busy. All that distraction though can take us away from the people and things we love the most. So this year instead of making a promise to yourself that you’re going to reconnect with every long lost friend, pick just one person in your life that you’d like to see again and set a date. Reach out and get lunch or coffee on the calendar. Even just taking a few minutes to give them a call can be a great way to reconnect and rebuild some of the relationships that may have been put on the back burner when life got crazy in 2019.
Setting new year’s resolutions can be a double-edged sword. On one hand the accountability of setting a resolution is great and on the other, they can be a source of shame if we feel like we’re not living up to our own standards. Remember to keep your goals small, attainable, and measurable. You’ll stand a better chance of success and you’ll get the satisfaction that only comes with following through on something you’ve decided is a priority in your life.
