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Think back to new year’s eve. The clock strikes midnight, we cheer and hug and kiss and say happy new year.

We’re already likely up past our regular bedtime, glass of champagne in our hand, and since Christmas the week before we have been eating our weight in food, drinking too much and lounging around in the Australian sun, or curled up under a blanket for those of you listening in the Northern Hemisphere.

Either way, do you really think these first few minutes of a new year are really setting you up for success when it comes to new year’s resolutions and healthy habits?

Not so much.

 

Here’s what we cover in this episode:

• Why starting your resolutions on January 1 is setting you up for failure.
• How to spend January to really maximise your chances of success.
• Why you need to have a plan.
• How to set realistic and achievable goals.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Think back to last new year’s eve. The clock strikes midnight, we cheer and hug and kiss and say happy new year. We’re already likely up past our regular bedtime, glass of champagne in our hand, and since Christmas the week before we have been eating our weight in food, drinking too much and lounging around in the Australian sun, or curled up under a blanket for those of you listening in the Northern Hemisphere.

Either way, do you really think these first few minutes of a new year are really setting you up for success when it comes to new year’s resolutions and healthy habits?

Not so much.

Of the 60% of us who actually commit to making a new years resolution, only 8% actually achieve them. We’ve all done it, stuck to our resolutions for a day, maybe a week if we’re really committed. And while we make these bold declarations with the best of intentions, once the novelty of a new year wears off and we’re back to work and the daily grind, we usually end up right back where we started and with an added bonus, that guilty feeling that creeps in because once again we haven’t seen them through. If you’re listening in real time, how are you doing – has that guilty feeling arrived yet?

Here were the top 10 new years resolutions for 2020, according to inc.com:

1. Actually stick to my New Year’s resolution
2. Trying something new
3. Eat more of my favourite foods
4. Lose weight or start a new diet
5. Go to the gym
6. Be happier

7. Be more healthy
8. Be a better person
9. Upgrade my technology
10. Stay motivated

Now, 2020 was an absolute shit-show of a year so I’m willing to bet that even less than 8% actually stuck to their resolutions this year, but I’m also pretty sure that the number of people making resolutions for 2021 and really committed to making a fresh start will be a lot higher than normal, especially when it comes to our health, our self-care, managing our stress levels and realising what our priorities actually are.

And so if you, like everyone else, were glad to see the end of 2020 and you were ready to make a change, then maybe we should change the way we go about making our new-years resolutions, or goal-setting in general.

And the first thing we need to change, is when we set these goals. Here’s why February is the ideal time to start your goals:

Think about how you usually spend New Year’s Day

Now, I have a confession here, I am not a huge fan of new year’s eve. As a kid, we always left for our summer family holidays bright and early on new year’s day so I am very much accustomed to an early night on new year’s eve. And as I’ve gotten older, nothing much has changed. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever really had an amazing new year’s eve. I feel like it’s mostly just drinking and waiting around until midnight, then it’s midnight and I’m ready to go home to bed. And so now on new year’s eve, you’ll likely find me asleep in bed, getting woken up by the fireworks set off by the locals and really quite annoyed about it. But, I do love the feeling of a fresh start. A new planner, a blank calendar and of course setting goals for where I want to be this time next year. And that is how I like to spend new year’s day.

But I know I am most likely the exception to the rule. Most people will spend it tired or hungover from the night before. You’re likely on holidays so you’re not living in your usual routine. And in Australia, we’re in summer and life is good. It just feels easier to go for a walk, exercise, eat healthy when you’re not bogged down with emails and phone calls and the daily commute. And you’re likely recovering from the last couple of weeks of December which have been full of social catch ups, parties, too much food and overindulging because it’s the holidays, after all. And it’s really likely that you just need a minute to catch your breath before you dive into the whole new year, new me craze. And that is why I truly believe that starting your new year’s resolutions in January is setting you up for failure.

February 1^st

So instead, I want you to spend January recovering from the last year, which I think we all need this year especially! Rest, take a moment to catch up and start to really reflect on the year you’ve just had and start thinking about how the changes you would like to make this year. And then, by the time February 1 rolls around, we’re back into the swing of things. We’re back at work, back studying, kids are back at school and that frantic end of year buzz has faded away. We’re back into our regular daily routines, back into everyday life and this is when we start to take action.

But like I said, this doesn’t mean you spend all of January over-indulging. You spend it planning. Prepare for the year ahead and put yourself in the best possible position to reach your goals. In January, I want you to try out different versions of your goals too. So, if your goals is to exercise more often and find a fitness plan that you can actually stick to, try some different ones out. Dip your toes in the water before you commit to that year-long gym membership. Youtube is full of amazing free workouts, sign up for a free trial on an app or monthly subscription service. If you can’t stick to it. For 7 days when you’re in peak motivation mode, you’re not going to stick to it for the rest of the year so save your money. Find a time that will work best for you, first thing in the morning or after dinner at night, schedule it in and play around. Is 5 days a week unsustainable? Start with 3 and work your way up. Then by February, you’ve figured out what you like, what works for you, and you’re more likely to see your resolutions through to March and beyond.

Plan, Plan, Plan

You might not know this about me, but I am OCD level organized. I have a Google calendar that basically maps out my work days from the moment I wake up to the moment I finish work and wind down for the day. Weekends are mine and they’re flexible so I don’t plan them with quite the same structure. But I’m building a business while working full time as a physio. I’m planning a wedding, Dan works shift work and I have a lot of stuff in my head. The more of that stuff I can write down and actually book in a time for, the less full my head feels and the less stressed and overwhelmed I feel. Now I’m not saying you have to be like me and have a Google calendar, a paper planner, a work diary and an appointment calendar – it’s a lot, I know. But I do suggest you throw your to-do list out the window and instead actually schedule in a time to do the things you need to do. This will keep you on track and by dedicating time to go for a walk, or meal prep, or have a bath, whatever it is you want to do more of in the new year, knowing you’re going to do it for a specific time on a specific day will be a game changer for you.

And so, your homework, I want you to schedule in time to sit down and write out your goals for the new year. And, because I’m a physio and we are very specific on goal setting with our clients, I want you to set SMART goals. So, if your goal is to exercise more, I want you to set this as a smart goal.

• Specific
• Measureable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Time-bound

• Specific – Don’t just say exercise more. Get specific, how many times a week do you want to exercise? How long for? What time of day? How much time will you need to block off in your calendar to make that happen?
• Measureable – How will you know you have achieved this goal? Will you keep a tracker of what days you worked out and what days you skipped it? Where will you keep this? Another reason why I love a paper planner.
• Achievable – This is why we use January to explore our options. We want our goals to be achievable and sustainable. We don’t want to get to March and wonder why the hell we wanted to do this to ourselves and why we signed up for a gym membership we haven’t even used yet?
• Realistic – If you’re not a morning person, setting an alarm an hour early to wake up and exercise is likely not realistic for you! That’s ok, you just need to make it work for you! If you know you have regular commitments in the morning or evening, that‘s fine, you can work around them but you need to acknowledge that these other commitments exists and that sometimes life happens.
• Finally, your goals need to be Time-bound. New years resolutions make this easy because often we can use a time frame of “this time next year”. But maybe you want to achieve your goals faster – set a date to review them and reflect on your progress. Maybe you want to exercise 3 times a week by May, then 4 times by July, then 5 times by October. Be specific and set a time.

Write your goals out and stick them somewhere you will see them everyday. There are so many ways to do this and you are only limited by your creativity here. Write it on a post-it and stick it to your bathroom mirror, the toilet door, the dashboard in your car, make a vision board and hang it on your wall – whatever works for you! But put them somewhere you can see them every day and keep yourself accountable. You are 42% more likely to achieve your goal if you write it down. 42%! Writing a goal down forces you to get clear on what exactly you want to achieve and it motivates you to take action. Can you imagine looking at that same post-it for 365 days in a row, scheduling in an exact time during your day to make it happen? Stick with this and I have no doubt in my mind that you will be one of those 8% that actually sticks with your new years resolutions this year – not just because you’re starting in February either.

If you’re thinking you’ve missed the boat because it’s already February and you haven’t yet started exploring your goals for the new year, it’s not too late! Take advantage that you’re already back into your normal routine and start incorporating your new habits into. Your regular week. I guarantee you will find out in a week or two what will stick and what needs changing. I hope you are having a fabulous start to the new year. I am a planning nut and I would love nothing more than to see how you plan your life – paper planners, google calendar – send me a photo of your favourite planning tools because I love to see how other people do things.

So today’s episode was a little different to usual, but if you learnt something new or found value in today’s episode, I’d love to hear from you! Send me an Instagram DM, send me your planning pictures and let me know what you want me to talk about in upcoming episodes. This podcast is for you and so I want to talk about the things that are most important to you!

You can get today’s shownotes with everything I talked about in this episode, as well as links to freebies and other related episodes at fertilityco.com.au/21

I will see you in next week’s episode, where we are back to fertility and I have something special to share with you. Until next time.

LINKS & RESOURCES

Related Episodes:

Episode 3 – 5 Things Every Woman Needs to Know About Her Pelvic Floor

Episode 6 – Finding Your Why

Episode 7 – 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Your Vagina

OTHER FREE RESOURCES

Want to say goodbye to hormonal contraceptives and their weird and unpleasant side effects?

Want to improve your chances of conceiving quickly and naturally?

You need my Fertility Roadmap – My simple 3-step system to understanding your body’s natural fertile signs and pinpointing ovulation day so that you can use this knowledge to achieve (or avoid) pregnancy.

Does your pelvic floor need a little extra TLC? Take the Pelvic Floor Quiz and find out how to start strengthening your pelvic floor today!

Want to make sure you’re exercising safely during your pregnancy? Get your Free Guide: 10 Exercises to Avoid During Pregnancy.

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