The only New Year’s resolution I make is not to make resolutions.
Why?
Because I am like the vast majority of people. I don’t keep New Year’s resolutions.
January 19.
What is special about that date? Research conducted by Strava using over 800 million user-logged activities in 2019 predicts the day most people are likely to give up on their New Year’s Resolution is January 19.
A Better Alternative To New Year’s Resolution
Instead of making a year-long commitment to something, I now do 90-day sprints.
The great thing about 90-day sprints towards goals is that you reset them every 90-days.
Last year, I watched a friend of mine lose more than 60 pounds. He did it in just under 10 months.
I want to lose 60 pounds. I want to be able to stand with my feet against the wall, look down, and see my feet.
If I set a goal of losing 60 pounds, that means I need to lose, on average, 18.5 oz per week.
What happens in 10 weeks if I haven’t lost any weight? That means I did not lose 11.5+ pounds.
Now, I have 42 weeks to lose that 60 pounds. That means I now need to lose almost 23 oz per week. That’s an increase in my weekly goal of more than 23%. And I couldn’t reach the lower goal.
How A 90-Day Goal System Works
I DO NOT take my 60-pound weight loss goal and calculate that I need to lose 14.8 pounds in the next 90 days.
That is breaking an annual goal and breaking into a 90-day subgoal.
My goal for the next 90 days is to not concern myself with the total of 60 pounds I want to lose.
I look at what the calendar shows for the next 90 days.
When I started my 90 days, it was November 15th.
I knew I would have Thanksgiving and Christmas to “deal with”. I knew it would be a stressful time for me and I would most likely not eat well or get the amount of exercise I wanted.
So my 90-day goal (which ends February 13th), is to lose 8 pounds. Not the 15 or so I’d be required to lose on the annualized goal.
When I look at March, April, and May, I know the weather will be better and I will be outside more. My metabolism will be better. I can go for more walks and bike rides. I will raise the pounds I expect to lose.
When I look at June, July, and August, I will raise my weight loss goals more since I will be eating more fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms.
Track Your Progress
I print out my 90-day goals and review them every day.
The overwhelming majority of my goals are “stretch goals.”
By “stretch goals” I mean these goals can be reached fairly easily so I bumped them up a notch or two.
For example, I am part of local network groups. These are groups of local business professionals from a wide range of industries. We are expected to meet with people in our group to have 1 on 1 meetings so we can get to know one another better. I figure I can meet one person a week. In a 90 day period, that means I would meet 13 people. My goal is 15 of these meetings. The stretch goal is the extra 2 meetings.
If I don’t meet with 15 and only meet with 8, did I fail? No.
I would have still met with 8 people whose business I could help and who could help me.
Adapt
Life will throw us challenges.
Our plans might not work out as planned as the poem “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns tells us “But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane, In proving foresight may be vain: The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men.“
We need to adapt.
We haven’t thrown everything out for the year. With a 90-day plan, we can reevaluate and plan again.
7 Areas of Life
The are 7 areas of life that I recommend that you set at least one 90-day goal in.
Physical: This is related to your Health, Appearance, and/or Exercise. You can decide to give up something (sugary snacks) or add something (do 10 pushups the moment you get out of bed).
Social: This includes Friends and Community Involvement. Set a goal to get together with your friends a set number of times or to volunteer in your community.
Personal: These are typically what people think of goals. But here I am asking you to commit to increasing your Knowledge, Education, through Self-Improvement. Decide you will read/listen one book in the next 90 days.
Career: Commit to doing something that will increase your career. That could be deciding to start a side hustle or by doing 1-on-1 meetings with others and attending networking events.
Financial: Set Income and Investment goals. Decide to invest your raise into retirement accounts. Decide to sell excess items in your home on eBay, Craigslist, or Facebook Marketplace to generate additional income.
Spiritual: We are spiritual beings. Decide to get more involved with your local church. Decide to read your Bible more frequently.
Family: Commit to building your Relationships. Do something (or stop doing something) to improve your relationship with your immediate family.
REMEMBER, you are committing for just 90 days. But make sure you commit to them. If after 90 days you don’t want to continue, decide on different goals. We are doing sprints here- NOT a marathon.
