The 12th and final chime of the clock on New Year’s Eve brought round a new year and a new batch of worthy – and unworthy – resolutions. Thou shalt not eat candy for one year. Thou shalt not use Facebook. Thou shalt lose 50 pounds a month. Thou art extremely unrealistic and absolutely out of thy mind. Has reality stopped you cold yet? With resolutions already fading into the background of a new 2012-inspired lifestyle, don’t let the pressure get the best of your resolution. Simple steps and planning can carry it through to the finish.

Resolution: Under New Management

The idea of a New Year’s resolution is to create a goal that changes a problem faced the previous year. Managing a goal can be much easier if it is within reason. It would be hard enough remembering not to buy that Coke or eat that doughnut, so deciding to completely remove something from the diet is almost impossible. You might even forget within the first month, unless you wear a sign on your head. Spare your ego the shame of failure and maybe limit the number of doughnuts or Cokes consumed each month, rather than eliminating them completely. To keep a resolution in the forefront, monitoring may be helpful. Keep track of what has been done, or even plan out specific dates on a calendar. A resolution cannot be rushed; it’s just like a baby bird. Careful nurturing, monitoring and a good shove out of the nest will get it going.

The Vague Vice

Vagueness will trip up even the most gold-hearted resolution. Ideas to help the community are wonderful and all – but specifics must be mapped out, or there may be a problem later. If deciding to help out the community, it’s easy to get lost in the fog. Who exactly are you helping and how will you be helping them? Specifics are a must. Changing your resolution to, ‘I will rake leaves once a month for the old lady down my street who can’t walk,’ clears things up.

Join Everyone Else at the Gym

I am going to work out more this year … are you? Prancing around the gym and spending two seconds at each machine doesn’t constitute as a ‘workout’. The best way to work out is to plan what parts of your body need the most work, how to improve them and what is ideal. To improve the strength of the body, continuous work must be made to a specific area: abs, legs, arms, etc. This will not be solved by working out once a week and doing the bare minimum. If planning to work out only once a week, concentrate on one area of improvement, not your whole body. While hitting two birds with one stone seems like the best way to go, serious improvements can be made by focusing and refining the body piece by piece.

Just Keep Swimming, Metaphorically Speaking

Three hundred and sixty-six days is a long time, remembering that resolution won’t be easy. This is the first mistake people will make on New Year’s; thinking that they can do something that is difficult to do in a day, and doing it for 366 (you got lucky, it’s a leap year). Reality will crush a resolution that is not made with that in mind. Careful thought, specifics and good management will help keep a resolution on the roster. A resolution will not be completed on its own; having will power and determination are just as important as anything else. That way – 366 days after the clock strikes 12 – you can remember all the hard work you’ve done for yourself by keeping up with your resolution.