Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a wonderful holiday filled with lots of
fun, friends, and family. It's 2019 now and I'm sure many of you have made New Year's
resolutions. Now, making resolutions is a great first step,
sticking to them, not always the easiest thing to do. So I've put together this
list of 10 tips, not only to help you stick to your New Year's resolutions, but
to make 2019 an extremely productive year. Here we go. Number one: Write
everything down. Now, you never know when inspiration will strike and no matter how
amazing or earth-shattering or game-changing your idea is, you will
forget it if you don't write it down somewhere. I can't tell you how many
great ideas I've had that simply just disappeared because I didn't write them
down. As soon as it comes to you, put it down on paper, write it on a napkin, make
a note in your phone, so that you do not forget. Okay, so along those lines, number
two: always carry a notebook. If you're going to write things down, you're going
to need something to write them in. Personally the phone, I lose things in
there. I need to actually put it down in an old-school way in a notebook. I've
used several different kinds of notebooks over the years. I've used a
Moleskine, a Smythson, but my favorite notebook for the last, oh, about a year
and a half or so has been this one right here by La Compagnie du Kraft. And my
favorite part about keeping all of my ideas in a notebook is that when you
thumb through it at the end of the year it's actually pretty interesting to look
at and it's almost kind of a work of art in itself. Number three is to find a
method of keeping track of things that you like. You know, do you like to write
out complete sentences? Do you prefer bullet points or diagrams
or sketches? Personally, for me, it's kind of a little bit of each of those things.
You know, when you find the method that works best for you, it makes it much
easier to review and actually understand all those thoughts that you have written
down. Number four: complete small tasks each day. There is no better feeling than
knowing that you have accomplished something at the end of every single day.
Every day, maybe it's the night before, make a list of things that you know are
attainable. Maybe it's go to the grocery store, go to the gym, read a magazine, and
then once you've finished those tasks, number five: cross them off your list.
Like, actually physically put a line through those tasks that
you have written down for that day. Even if they're small tasks, I can tell you
that the act of crossing something off is a small victory that has a huge
effect on your morale. Okay, from thinking small and immediately attainable, we're
moving to number six which is to think big, as well. As you think about all of
those small goals, try to step back and get a sense of the bigger picture and
how all of those small goals can help you get closer to achieving something
much larger as well. Now, one of the things that can help you visualize this
bigger, more macro, picture is number seven, which is to create a document that
has all of this information mapped out and right there for you to see. I'm
personally a very big picture kind of guy. When I think of things, I think of
where that thing might lead in, like, three or five years. I've been in the
habit of making big Google spreadsheets, color-coded, the whole deal. Now, this is
not a simple exercise. It's not something you can sit down and fire off in, like, 10
minutes, or so. It takes time and it takes a lot of thought. But, if you put that
work in, it helps make everything come into an amazing focus, which, in turn,
gives you much more purpose and a clearer direction.
Number eight: make some personal goals. Now, for me, I tend to get really, really
focused on projects. For the past six years, or so, that has been my business.
But I've also realized it's important to spend some time on me as well, and that's
been anything from prioritizing fitness and going to the gym, working on running
six-minute miles or sub six-minute miles, doing the New York Times crossword
puzzle every night, or just spending time doing nothing to allow all of the
information that I consume throughout the day to just kind of settle inside of
me. Number nine is to share your goals with others. There's absolutely nothing
better for accountability than sharing what your goals and plans are with other
people. Maybe if you even ask them to, you know, check in with you every so often to
see how you're doing. There's nothing more motivating than having someone you
trust and respect hold you accountable for something. It's almost like if you
ask them to do that, you feel, like, morally obligated to follow through.
Finally, number 10: celebrate your success. Now, this is a big one. You know, when you
achieve some kind of success, take the time to enjoy it.
All too often, I think when we finish a task or achieve a goal, even a big one,
we immediately move on to the next thing. Maybe it's because we don't want to be
self-congratulatory, or something like that, or we think that we don't have time
to actually celebrate. But do yourself a favor and take the time to do that.
Because you know what? You deserve it. I hope those tips were helpful. They
definitely helped me over the years. It's a list that I like to revisit every
single year. It keeps me focused. It keeps me on task. It reminds me to accomplish
small things every day, but also to keep the bigger picture in mind, as well. I
would love to hear the ways that you guys have found helpful to stick to your
New Year's resolutions. Leave those down below in the comments. Thumbs up if you
liked this video. Hit that subscribe button. We have so much good stuff coming
up on the channel this year, I can't wait to share it with you guys!
So, until next time, thanks for watching and stay tailored!