10 tips for writing achievable blogging resolutions

Posted by Ben on December 29, 2008 | Permalink | Hits: 635 
Tags: new year, resolutions, specific, ambitious, objectives, achievements, sequence

| Planning | 10 reasons to set resolutions all year round >

As there's a brand new year on the horizon, I'd like to share 10 tips for making your resolutions achievable. Many of the tips can be applied to things other than blogging.

1. Be specific.

Set clear goals that can be measured, so you'll know when you've done what you need to do. Saying "I want more subscribers" could be achieved whether you get 1 more subscriber, or 1,000 more! In this case, you'd state how many subscribers you want to have, not just "more".

2. Don't make resolutions for the whole year.

If you only set objectives once a year, it's quite likely that you'll forget about them once the year is in full swing. You might give your resolutions a cursory look at points throughout the year, but you don't feel much urgency because you have the whole year to do them. Then before you know it, it's almost Christmas and you've achieved nothing. The New Year should not be the only time when you set resolutions.

3. Be ambitious.

If your resolutions are too easy to achieve, you may start to get complacent or lose interest in making any improvements at all. Set goals that will challenge you.

4. Be realistic.

Although it's good to be ambitious, you don't want to set your sights too high, otherwise you'll be doomed to failure. We can't succeed at everything, but if you set yourself up for failure, what chance do you have of succeeding?

5. Don't work on too many objectives at once.

Setting too many goals in one go can be very overwhelming. If you have lots of objectives but don't want to split your time between all of them at once, just work on one objective at a time.

6. Organise your objectives in a clear sequence.

If you have more than one objective, you may find that some need to be done before you can do the rest. Make sure you order your objectives to illustrate the sequence, if the sequence is important.

7. Break down larger objectives into smaller objectives.

Small tasks can be very quick to do, but larger goals may need to be broken down. Be sure to set some milestones so you can track your progress when working on these bigger objectives.

8. Work with someone else.

If possible, you may find it beneficial to share your resolutions with a friend and make sure they set some too. Then you can discuss your progress each week. This gets you into a routine and can make it easier to get your objectives completed sooner.

9. If you miss a date, reassess.

Sometimes, things don't go according to plan, and you may find that you miss a date. If this happens, review how much you've done and how much time you need to complete the task in hand. Don't just push it out another week without thinking about it.

10. List your resolutions on a separate page of your blog.

When you complete a resolution, write the date you completed it on the page. Refer your readers to this page so they can see your progress - don't write a new post every time you complete a resolution. This way, you can keep your readers updated without flooding the blog with posts about your resolutions.

Do you write achievable resolutions?

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Comments on 10 tips for writing achievable blogging resolutions

6

Ben | December 31, 2008 | Ben's home page | 190 comments

Thanks for the comments everyone. :)

If anyone comes up with a resolutions page, do come back and post the link here. :D