Write Your New Year Resolutions with To Do Checklist

As the New Year 2015 has arrived, its time to make our new year resolutions. While the statistics show that about 60% of all new year resolutions fail, taking a different approach this season might actually work this time. After considering popular New Year resolution writing techniques, we’ve decided to stick to advice from David Allen, a globally known business coach and the creator of the GTD system (Getting Things Done). So buckle up and enjoy the ride as we will share the secrets of successful new year resolution making. And keep in mind that To Do Checklist will be your perfect assistant helping you to achieve your goals fast.

Start New Year Resolutions with New Year Recollections

1. Be less critical of yourself. The statistics say that over 80% of our self-talk is negative. So this time instead of going around pressuring yourself, shift your focus to recollection of new actions and achievements you’ve done in 2014.
2. Take Your Time to Do Recollections. The New Year resolutions are all about change and making new habits. Start with taking an hour to review the actions you’ve made that needed some conscious effort. It can include new achievements, things you have never done or tried before or places that you have traveled.
3. Acknowledge Your Efforts. Many experts will agree that majority of people lack self-acknowledgement. Having a huge starvation for that, recall all the things that you have accomplished this year.

“I think most people don’t realize that 

we need a lot of self-acknowledgement.

We’re all starved for that.”

David Allen

Setting ‘Process’ Goals

While long-term goals may look good on paper, they rarely work. David points out to the importance of setting shorter term goals. The recent studies showed that setting long-term goals is demotivating leading to ultimate crash and burn of your energy. But setting shorter-term objectives of your long-term goals does actually work. Focus on setting shorter term goals and make sure you support each of them with an ‘actual activity’. For example, “I will lose 15 pounds” – this motivation will die, but “I will run for 15 min at a 8 km/h pace” will work!

1. Set shorter-term goals that are easy to process for your brains.
2. Use shorter-term objectives towards achieving your long term goals.
3. Create process goals supported with an actual activity.

Apply Changes through Acquiring Automatic Habits

Whether we like it or not, but sticking to the new year resolutions is challenging. But, on the other hand, we like challenges! If we want our new resolutions to last, then we should be persistent in building new automatic habits. Learn more about it.

Getting Stuff out of your Head!

One of the core principles of David Allen’s productivity is the more to-dos you move out of your head, the more you free up your short-term memory (‘ getting rid of useless crap’). Unleashing your short-term memory gives you a chance to focus on bigger and better-quality things you should accomplish in your day. So don’t stop yourself now, download To Do Checklist and create a new to do list, free up your mind for new inspiring and fulfilling ideas and to start creating new automatic habits.

“Your mind is not for holding ideas, it’s for having ideas.”

David Allen