Make 2020 your year with good intentions

Every year, good resolutions almost automatically end up on the agenda at the turn of the year. However, by the end of January, things often start to fizzle out again. How can I stick to them better?

Write down and visualize resolutions

We often make good resolutions not only in our private lives, but also in a professional context. The following technique is particularly suitable for the latter case in order to stay on the ball for longer: write down your professional resolutions and take out your notes every day. Check what you have already achieved. Imagine in advance how you will achieve your goals and what a good feeling that will be. Be sure to reward yourself for what you have achieved.

So think about all the benefits of implementing your good intentions.

A good plan

But what should these resolutions actually look like? First of all, be realistic and plan ahead so that you don’t fail because your goals are too ambitious. Break the resolutions down into individual subtasks in order to achieve the big goal. Set binding deadlines for your milestones and final goals. Of course, the same applies here: writing them down helps!

Finally, include the obstacles in your considerations. Think in advance about what obstacles there might be to implementing your resolutions and how you want to react to them.

Is this possibly a task that you can tackle together with others? Then look for supporters. Motivate each other to achieve the common goal.

And here’s some food for thought: why not make good resolutions for the whole of 2020 and beyond? The basic idea of New Year’s resolutions is a good one, but why should you only think about what you want to achieve or improve once a year? Why not make good resolutions part of your routine and make new resolutions at the beginning of each month, for example, which you then implement promptly. This will really help you move forward, will eventually become second nature and is a good way to optimize yourself in your day-to-day work.

What’s more, why not make regular resolutions as a team or in your own department? This promotes team spirit, makes everyday working life easier and you can celebrate achieved goals together.

Formulate goals smarter

The SMART method helps you to formulate goals in such a way that you can actually achieve them. To do this, you should compare the goals you have already set with the following points to find out how you can formulate them even better or develop them directly on the basis of the SMART method if you have not yet set specific goals.

S – Specific: Concrete, brief definition of the project. Precisely capture the plan.

M – Measurable: Define concrete goals and milestones and tick them off. Ideally, these should be facts and figures, not “soft” targets.

A – Acceptable: The resolution or goal must be designed in such a way that everyone involved can identify with it in order to have a good motivational situation (e.g. in the team).

R – Realistic: Dream castles are built on sand. Good intentions and goals must be realistically achievable. Of course, this also applies to all milestones.

T – Scheduled: The time frame is defined here, which must of course also be realistic.

These five criteria of the SMART method are an extremely useful tool for achieving your goals. If all criteria are met, you can be sure that your goal is well formulated and then implementation will be much easier. You can find more information on the topic of goal setting in our HR lexicon.

Good intentions: Conclusion

Stay on the ball and make good intentions at work part of your routine. You’ll be surprised how much you can achieve! And in the event that optimizing your HR management is one of your resolutions for 2020, Teamhero will be happy to support you at any time.