Failed Your Resolutions? Try These Goal-Setting Tips for the Second Half of the Year

We’re halfway through the year, and instead of freaking out about running out of time and getting older like you always do, why not use this as the perfect starting point for change?

On the 1st of January every year, millions of people set themselves a resolution they wish to achieve over the next 365 days. Maybe their resolution is to wake up earlier, or to stop ordering takeout and cook themselves dinner more, or to try and be social every weekend. Whatever the resolution is, a study conducted by the University of Scranton has shown only 8 percent of the earth’s population will actually achieve the resolution they’ve set out for themselves.

Shifts in interests, needs, and wants, lack of time and busy schedule, and loss of motivation, are all to blame when it comes to not following through with our resolutions. So instead of waiting until January 1st rolls around again, why not use the halfway mark of the year as our next starting point?

So, let’s treat the 1st of July like a Monday – the day we always choose to start a new habit on. Let this halfway mark of the year be the temporal landmark you need to achieve your goals with a less daunting amount of time to do it in. With that being said, here are our top 5 tips on how to achieve your goals in the second half of the year.

1. Be specific

Define exactly what it is you want to achieve, and how you want to go about achieving it. Maybe your goal is to get up and go for a walk three mornings a week before work to clear your head – you don’t need to start doing this immediately. An immediate start can often result in an abrupt and early end. Start by waking up a little earlier, then introduce one morning a week of walking and slowly increase the amount of walks from there.

2. Write your goals out and make them visible

We can’t just rely on our minds to remind us of our goal. Help yourself out by writing down the goals you wish to achieve and stick them somewhere in your home where you’ll be able to read them everyday. Perhaps your goal is to finish reading one book per month. You might like to stick up post-it notes on your mirror that remind you to read your book that day while you brush your teeth.

3. Turn your resolution into a goal

If you weren’t able to achieve a resolution you set out earlier in the year, try and reframe what you want and pose the resolution as a goal. Resolutions are statements of intentions, while goals are commitments that require action – restructure your resolutions accordingly.

4. Pick no more than 3 goals to work on at a time

People often lose sight of their goals because they set too many of them. Don’t overwhelm yourself with potential. Try and stick to a maximum of three goals to work on for the next six months. When you achieve one, you can then look at introducing another.

5. Pick a goal that’s measurable

One of the best ways to stay motivated while working towards a goal is by tracking your progress. If this is your first time picking a goal, try and pick one you will be able to compare results to. For example, if your goal is to walk before work each morning, mark in a calendar how often you are walking and for how long. If you own a smartwatch or pedometer, keep track of your steps and how the step count increases over the weeks so you can see your progress.