As you drive to work and back have you noticed an increase in the number of joggers pounding the pavements? And is your paper been full of personal fitness supplements and special introductory offers from your local gym? It must be the New Year - and that means resolutions!
Of course, making resolutions is easy - keeping them is more difficult. But I recently came across research carried out by the University of Hertfordshire which explains why some people succeed where most others fail.
They found five principles which successful resolutions have in common. Of course, this was designed to help us personally - but I was struck by how useful the principles would be at work. We all want to make improvements, but all too often our ideas don't turn into action - just like New Year resolutions.
Here are those five principles - I'm sure they'll help you.
1. Break your goal into smaller steps
This is definitely a useful technique at work. Any large change can fail simply because it's so daunting. If a task seems overwhelming, it can be difficult simply to get started. You'll find it much easier if you break it down into smaller steps you know you can achieve.
2. Reward yourself when you achieve each step
This is an interesting one! We're very happy to reward ourselves for personal success - losing that first pound in weight, or going for a week without a cigarette. But we don't often do the same thing at work - and maybe we should.
If you've set your team an objective to improve performance, why shouldn't you reward yourselves when you reach each milestone?
3. Tell your friends about your resolution
This is much more likely to happen at work anyway. You can't usually achieve anything on your own, so you can't keep a resolution to yourself.
But what's really important is you tell people who aren't directly involved in the task. Then you can't just quietly forget about it when it starts to get difficult. You don't need to do anything sophisticated - a noticeboard in a public place works fine.
4. Focus on the benefits of success
New Year's Resolutions are about things we're reluctant to do, but which have a long-term benefit. If you focus on the benefit, it gives you a reason to put up with the short-term pain.
It's just the same at work. We have to do difficult things - but we do them because there's a benefit. To motivate yourself and others to take these difficult steps you must all understand the benefits you get later on. So whenever you review progress, restate the reason for the task - in other words, the benefit you're all going to get.
5. Keep a diary of your progress
Most changes happen gradually - often so gradually you don't actually notice what's happening. That's why it's helpful to record what you do. It allows you to see how much change you've achieved, so that you have an incentive to continue.
At work, a diary probably isn't the way you want to keep a record. But you should measure what you're doing. Right at the start, set yourself a target you can easily measure, and then record your progress regularly.
So there you are - why not use the five principles for New Year Resolutions at work as well? You'll find they help you achieve your business objectives just as effectively as your own personal goals.
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