There are some major problems in the way we make our New Year’s resolutions. Vague and ambiguous resolutions are the leading causes of why they generally fail. If you are serious about bettering yourself in 2012, HR Strategies wants to help you make a fresh start! No matter what your personal resolutions are, the following rules can be applied to anyone’s goals: 5 Rules for Building Better Resolutions:

1. Be more specific: Setting broad goals gives us too much wiggle room. Saying you want to ‘lose weight’ can mean anything from one to thirty pounds. Instead of setting vague and ambiguous goals, focus on something concrete that you can track. Resolutions should be realistic, specific, and measurable.
2. Take baby steps: Taking on too much at one time is a common reason for failed resolutions. Dramatically changing any habit or behavior is a process. Take each large goal and break it down into smaller segments. If your goal is to ‘run a marathon’, create an exercise plan that gradually steps you up to running a full 26.2 miles.
3. Change doesn’t happen overnight so don’t sweat the small stuff: Don’t forget that changing any behavior is a process. Studies show that it takes at least 21 days for the average person to form a habit. Don’t give up just because you’re not seeing results in the first few weeks. Giving up after a misstep can wreck a resolution; don’t let small setbacks ruin your motivation. Changing your life for the better is going to involve some failure. As the age old saying goes, if it was easy, it wouldn’t be worth doing. Keep in mind that the path to a better you can be a challenging one, so use any relapses as learning opportunities.
4. Phone a friend: Involving a close friend in your goal planning can help you stay on track. For example, by exercising with a friend, you are more likely to participate so that you don’t let them down. Having someone to keep you accountable makes achieving your goals much more likely.
5. Constantly review your goals: Now that you’ve constructed a list of measurable, specific, and attainable resolutions; keep it where you can see it. Use it for motivation. Continually review where you are with your goals, and positively reward yourself when you reach milestones. (This doesn’t mean going out to eat when you hit the 10 pound weight loss mark- rewards should be unrelated to goals, but still exciting and fun.) By keeping your New Year’s resolutions out in the open, you’ll be on your way to a better 2012.

There are a few different lists going around right now about the Top Resolutions for 2012. We’ve compiled those lists into one. Here are the top 12 things Americans are striving for this New Year. America’s Top 12 Resolutions of 2012

1. Lose weight
2. Eat healthy
3. Exercise regularly
4. Quit smoking
5. Drink less alcohol
6. Reduce stress
7. Save money
8. Volunteer
9. Spend more time with family
10. Get organized
11. Learn something new
12. Travel

For our ‘updated’ list below, we’ve applied the 5 Rules to Building Better Resolutions. HR Strategies Top 12 Resolutions of 2012

1. Lose ___ pounds by ______ this date
   • Consult with your doctor to learn your ideal weight and make a healthy and realistic weight loss goal. A good idea is to break up your goal into smaller segments. If you want to lose 25 pounds this year, set 5 separate goals of losing 5 pounds each time. This makes your journey less daunting and more likely to succeed. Regular exercise and a healthy diet are foolproof ways to shed those extra pounds—but remember everything in moderation. Our bodies only need a certain amount of sustenance per day (healthy or non healthy), and talking to your doctor can help you figure out your best weight loss plan.
2. Create a healthy lifestyle
   • Eating healthy has so many positive attributes: less excess weight, better quality of life, longevity, clearer skin, more energy, and an overall healthier body. Eating healthy on a daily basis might be a major lifestyle change for many people. Many behavioral components are wrapped up into ‘eating healthy’. From grocery shopping, to cooking and meal planning, to eating at home more often; this resolution can be broken down into many different smaller goals. For instance, set a certain day to go grocery shopping and make a rigid list. Buy more fruits and veggies and less unhealthy snacks. Buy foods that you can take to work instead of eating out every day. Not only will this help you to eat healthier, it also might save you money! Figure out what makes your current lifestyle unhealthy, and start from there. Baby steps are very important on this one!
3. Make an exercise schedule and stick to it
   • Join a gym, start walking with a friend, or create your own at-home exercise plan. Some gyms even have a personal training program included with membership—this and working out with a friend will help keep you accountable in your fitness regime. Create a schedule that starts slow and works up, increasing both number of days a week and intensity as you go along. Consult with your doctor first to make sure that you are beginning a healthy and effective exercise plan.
4. Begin a smoking cessation regimen
   • HR Strategies is partnered with EAP Consultants through which we offer smoking cessation programs. Baby steps are crucial to quitting smoking.
5. Cut down to ___ drinks a week
   • By making this goal measurable, it will be much easier to stay on track. Talk to your doctor about your alcohol intake to see if you are currently consuming an unhealthy amount. Then see what they recommend for maximum drinks per week. Keep tally of your alcohol intake on a post-it on the fridge, on your smart phone, or at your desk.
6. Reduce stressors & schedule relaxing , calming activities
   • Make a list of all the things that ‘stress you out’ and make a conscious effort to avoid any of the list items that you can. Naturally, many daily stressors are unavoidable, and should be given more thought. Stress is commonly caused by conflict, lack of planning, and disorganization. If you have significant conflict in your life, make it a point to try and work things out. If rushing around stresses you out, be a better planner. For example: if trying to get the kids ready and get off to work is extremely stressful for you, try planning things for the night before. Lay out both yours and your kids clothing, have all lunches prepared, pack all bags and set them by the door, put a list on the door so you can make sure you have everything on your way out. This can save you some extra stress that rushing around creates. We’ll talk about getting organized in number 10.
7. Create a budget
   • If your money just seems to disappear, start looking at your online statement daily. You’ll be able to distinguish patterns of excess spending. Cut down where you can, and create a structured budget. There are plenty of companies who will help you gain control and manage your finances. And if that’s not in the budget, research online ways to save money. Once you get in the habit, saving can be a cinch!
8. Volunteer for _________ charity ______ times a month
   • Instead of just saying you want to help others, do some research on charities in your area. There is always something that you can be doing to help out the community. Find activities you’ll enjoy and make a commitment to volunteer a certain number of times a month. This will, again, make your goal measureable and you’ll be able to see just how much your contributions will make a difference.
9. Schedule family time
   • You schedule time to meet with your co-workers, why leave the family out? If you are serious about spending more time with your family, work ‘family time’ into your schedule. Plan out time each week that everyone can get together, cell phones and laptops off, and play board games, do arts and crafts, or go bowling. Planning family activities ahead of time will help you attain this goal.
10. Create an organization schedule
    • Make a list of the things in your life that you want to ‘get organized’. The hall closet, the home office, under the bed, the attic, the basement, or whatever it may be, the longer the list, the more overwhelming it can seem. If you take baby steps and tackle one organization project at a time, this resolution will become far less daunting.
11. Take a class
    • This one is pretty simple: if you are serious about learning something new, find a class in your area and sign up for it. This is a sure-fire way to ‘learn something new’ this New Year.
12. Plan a trip
    • Just like most other things on this list, if you don’t plan it, it’s probably not going to happen. Some extra initiative in our lives can result in extraordinary results.

Now that we’ve shown you  our 5 Rules to Build Better Resolutions this year, revamp your own list! We want to hear from you! What resolutions are you making this year?