How to Keep Your Resolutions in 2019

How to Keep Your Resolutions in 2019 Making resolutions each January is the easy part. Sticking to them beyond, say, February, that’s the tricky part. It’s not necessarily the goals themselves that are failing you, though- it could be the way you’re setting them, and the way you’re setting yourself up to implement them. Let’s look at some key strategies for crafting and keeping resolutions for a happy and productive 2019.5 Ways to Keep Your New Year’s ResolutionsWrite them downYour goals and resolutions may be top of mind for you, and you may understand intuitively what they are and how you want to achieve them. But no matter how well you think you’ll be able to keep them in mind, write them down- on a Post-It, in your phone, in a spreadsheet; it doesn’t matter how or where. Just put it in writing.The act of writing helps make your resolutions official. And if you put them somewhere you’re likely to see them often (like at your desk or on your fridge), youâ €™re less likely to lose track of your intentions when you’re back to the daily grind after the holidays.Be realisticThis is probably the most important part of creating actionable and achievable resolutions. Think better self, not necessarily best self. Losing 20 pounds or being fluent in a new language within a year sound great. But how likely  are those to happen?If your goal is vague and lofty, be specific about what you want to achieve and think hard about whether you can achieve it with the time and resources you’ll realistically have available to you throughout the year. Maybe15 pounds by September is a more realistic goal. Perhaps you can take on one hour of French practice with an app every week. The more you think about your real life and what it will take to achieve your goal, the better your resolution will be at the outset.Break them downIf you break your resolutions down into pieces throughout the year, it gives you a series of smaller goals that yo u can accomplish- making it easier to stay on track for the big goals. For example, if your main resolution is to get a new job this year, consider the components of that. You’ll need to update your resume, start looking for job openings, apply for job openings, upgrade your interview outfit, etc. Each of those steps is something you can do in the meantime, and feel good about checking each one off as you complete it.Small wins add up to big wins. And even if you don’t ultimately hit your main resolution by the end of the year, you can look back at these smaller tasks you completed and feel accomplished at what you did and how you did it.Set a time frameI’ve got all year, so I’ll deal with this later. That’s a fatal mindset for any resolution, but especially professional ones. If you’ve already got a job or you’re caught up in daily routines, it can be harder and harder to push out of that comfort zone and do the things you need to do to maintain action toward your resolution.Setting specific due dates for yourself creates accountability, even if you’re the only one who knows they exist. And like breaking your goals down into manageable chunks, timing helps make your goals more achievable on a daily, weekly, and monthly level. Say your goal is to build your professional network throughout the year. Set milestones each month: add two people to your LinkedIn connections; set a coffee date with a different former work colleague each month; post a new update each week about your professional activities. Or if you’re looking for an upgrade at work (new job or a promotion), set interim milestones like having an updated resume by March, doing comprehensive salary research by April, etc.Reward yourselfAchieving your goals is a reward unto itself, sure. But y’know what’s also a reward? Treating yourself for hitting those milestones. Think ahead of time what would be an incentive for you to mak e progress on your resolution. Spa day? An afternoon off and tickets to see your favorite sports team play? It doesn’t have to be huge or expensive, just a gift to yourself for the work you’ve done throughout the year. Anything that helps you keep your interest when things get busy or frustrating, that’s what you want to use as the carrot in front of you.New year’s resolutions can be a great way to reset your thinking and refresh your goals. However, if you’re not approaching them in a way that will help you keep your focus and your interest, what’s the point? The more effort you put into setting yourself up now, the more likely you are to stick to your resolutions, and grow as much as you can in 2019.

Ive Watched Agents Laugh

Ive Watched Agents Laugh Having been to my fair share of conferences, Ive picked up a habit that started during a frustrating conference in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I noted that the sea of agents in attendance tended to cluster. They whispered to each other, stealing glances at other attendees. As a shy writer, I truly understood partnering with a like soul at a strange event, and assumed that was their motive. But at the banquet, the agents filled a couple of tables en masse, not sitting with any of the writers who paid to brush elbows with these professionals. They texted, emailed, chuckled, and passed notes to each other as the keynote was delivered. I recall writing down all their names, vowing never to submit to them (Ha! Showed them, huh!?), but better yet, never placing them in my newsletter. To this day I study agents at events, watching to see if they are taking the conference seriously, or if they seem to be just putting in their hours until they can fly back to New York. But a BIG however goes right here. Not all agents are like that. Ive met some quite pleasant ones. And diligent ones. And ones that believe to the tips of their toes that their authors are grand. Just like not all self-published books come up lacking, not all agents are arrogant. We cannot afford to lump self-publishing, traditional publishing, agents and publishers into walled boxes of stereotypes. Each and every category has its shining stars . . . and its flawed participants. Thats why you do your homework to learn the facts, not the rumor and opinion, of each tentacle in this octopus we call publishing. Ive already been chastised this month But you have to know what you are doing. You cant self-publish and expect other people to do it for you. You have to be resilient and innovative, doing the things that a traditional publisher usually does . . . what an agent usually does. Accept the responsibility and do it right. Use the proper rules and tools to make your work professional, not homespun. Not jerry-rigged. Not amateur. What if I told you never to paint your bedroom, grow your garden or fix your car? What if I told you the only way to deal with these do-it-yourself tasks was to hire a professional? Youd balk, because some of us are very equipped to handle DIY ventures. I just painted my bedroom and my garden is glorious. But Ill hire a mechanic. Its all in knowing our strengths and weaknesses capitalizing on our skills yet recognizing when to fall back on the skills of others.