Another year has passed
The beginning of a new year is the perfect opportunity to make a fresh start and leave bad habits behind. Unfortunately, in order to start the new year in a truly productive and focused way, it is not enough to simply make resolutions.
Every year it’s the same thing
In the first few weeks of January, you still stick to your New Year’s resolutions, but gradually you lose sight of your goals. I’ll show you how to formulate and implement your New Year’s resolution correctly. I’ll also give you some ideas on what you can tackle in the new year and what you shouldn’t forget.
Table of Contents
New year – new you?
Well, not quite.
But you can integrate new habits into your everyday life step by step and focus on the important things in life. This is how New Year’s resolutions become reality.
- No more vague Goals
- Ideal use of a Calendar
- This leaves Chaos in the old Year
- Avoid Misunderstandings
- Further Training instead of Stagnancy
- Establish Productive Routines
- How to achieve a good Work-Life Balance
- Being and Staying Healthy in 2025
- Time for Socialising
- That's why Hobbies are important
- Reduce Screen Time
- Conclusion and Recommendations
No more vague Goals
New Year’s resolutions are easy to make, but less easy to implement. If you really want to tackle and achieve things this year, you should set yourself smart goals. There is even a method for this:
SMART method
S for Specific
The wording should be precise in order to avoid room for interpretation.
e.g. instead of “do more sport”
rather “go running 3 times a week”
M for Measurable
Can you formulate your goal in such a way that it can be measured?
e.g. instead of “improve my endurance”
rather “train at a moderate heart rate”
A for Attractive
You should be enthusiastic about your resolutions and see a purpose in them
e.g. instead of “go for a run because it’s trendy”, you should “go for a run to keep your body fit for old age”
R for Realistic
Be honest with yourself and set your goals in such a way that they are actually achievable
e.g. instead of “go running 6 times a week” without running experience, “go running 3 times a week and slowly increase”
T for Terminated
Set yourself a specific date by which you want to have achieved your goal.
e.g. instead of “Next year I will run a marathon”
rather “Today I am registering for the Vienna City Marathon”
Once you have applied all the points, your New Year’s resolution will look like this, for example:
“I want to do more sport to stay healthy and acquire discipline(Attractive). That’s why I’m taking part in the Vienna City Marathon on April 6, 2025 (Terminated). I currently run 3 times a week and have the capacity to train 5 times(Realistic). I will have a training plan drawn up for this, which will allocate me 5 runs per week (Measurable) and give me the exact details (length, time, type of run) (Specific).
Ideal use of a Calendar
Aside from the classic tips for efficient calendar use, we often forget obvious tips that can make our everyday lives easier. That’s why we’ve collected them here for you:
“No, thank you” is the new “Hell yes”
Have you ever heard of “JOMO”? It’s an abbreviation of the phrase “joy of missing out” and describes the excitement of missing out on certain activities. This is exactly what saying “no” can do.
Sometimes you go to an event even though you don’t feel like it for fear of missing out on something interesting. (“FOMO” = “fear of missing out”) Saying “no” and listening to yourself can mean that you make more time for things that are important to you and that you want to do.
Blocking, Bbatching and Boxing
No, we’re not talking about sports. Rather, it’s about organizing your calendar in such a way that you avoid multitasking.
Time Blocking
Blocking time slots for certain tasks.
e.g. 10-12 o’clock mails
Task Batching
Task batching zooms in on the individual time blocking tasks. If the task is “Content Creation”, a subordinate task can be “Rotate TikTok video”, for example.
Time Boxing
More concrete formulation of time blocking, instead of “Write blog post from 1 – 5 pm” rather “Finish blog post between 1 – 5 pm.
You can find more detailed descriptions and further calendar management tips in the Join article.
This leaves Chaos in the old Year
Tidiness is half the battle. Not only at home, but also at work. And it doesn’t have to be difficult to keep your surroundings tidy. And people are not that complicated.
The Timer
You may know this from your everyday life. It doesn’t matter whether you have an hour or 20 minutes in the morning: Most of the time, you still manage to get out of the house reasonably on time. That shows: You can often do the same thing in less time. This also applies to tidying up.
This is where a timer comes into play. Set yourself a timer for ten minutes after dinner. During this time, try to tidy up the kitchen. Most of the time, it doesn’t take any longer. Unfortunately, it’s easy to get lost in these everyday tasks. This can be avoided with time pressure.
Avoid Misunderstandings
In many cases, communication is the cause of misunderstandings and problems, but it is also the key to solving them. That’s why working on your own communication seems to be a wonderful New Year’s resolution.
Four-sided model
Factual level
The described content/
What you are informing about
Self-Disclosure
What you reveal about yourself through the message
Relationship Level
What the type of message reveals about our relationship
Appeal Level
What you want to achieve with it/
What you want the recipient to do
The traffic light is green
Woman sitting at the wheel, man in the passenger seat
Man: “The traffic light is green!”
Woman: “Are you driving or am I driving?”
Man’s statement divided into the four levels
Self-disclosure: indication that the passenger is in a hurry
Factual level: indication that the traffic light has just turned green
Appeal level: request to drive off
Relationship level: intention to help the woman or demonstration of superiority
This model comes from the book: Miteinander reden – Friedemann Schulz von Thun (3 parts)
An open and constructive discussion promotes cooperation. This does not mean that you always agree. That’s totally normal. What matters is how you resolve the difference. The following points are crucial during the conversation::
Constructive feedback instead of emotional action
instead of “You never listen to me!”
rather say “I feel overlooked when you often look at your cell phone during our conversation – could we please take more time for each other?”
Maintain respect and let people speak out
rather than interrupting someone
“I understand your point of view, but please let me briefly explain mine as well.”
Authenticity instead of suppressing your own opinion
Instead of remaining silent for fear of conflict,
prefer “I see things differently and would like to share my opinion, even if it may not be popular.”
Flexibility instead of Conservative Thinking
Instead of “We’ve always done it this way”
rather show openness to new methods, they might work better at the current time.
Further Training instead of stagnancy
The most sustainable investment is still in your own skills. Further training does not necessarily mean quitting your job and starting university. There are also numerous opportunities for further education and training alongside work.
If you already have an idea of the direction you would like to take, the Austrian Chamber of Labor offers free educational advice via video.
If you don’t know exactly where you want to go, you can ask your boss or supervisor what options are available to you.
And last but not least: You’re never too old to look around at a career information fair.
Establish productive Routines
How does something become routine? Through the regular repetition of an action. Do you want to integrate new things into your everyday life? This is how you make it a routine.
Set clear Goals
Define specific, achievable goals that you want to pursue with your new routine. The best way to do this is with the SMART method, which we described in the first point.
Start small
Start with small, achievable steps to avoid being overwhelmed and to experience success more quickly. (e.g. instead of aiming to run a marathon, complete a quarter marathon or half marathon first)
Stay consistent
Try to perform the new routine at the same time every day to form a habit. It can also help to tie a new habit to an existing one.
Remind yourself
Use reminders, calendars or apps to remind you of your new routines and support their implementation. Perhaps you can do your new routine together with a friend or partner. The inhibition threshold for cancelling in advance is also higher here.
Reward yourself
Reward yourself for sticking to your routine to increase your motivation and enjoyment of the new habit. Whether it’s an outing, brunch or clothes – you decide.
How to achieve a good Work-Life Balance
Ensure a good balance between work and leisure time. It is important to take regular breaks and also make time for personal interests.
These 3 steps will help you to finally achieve your New Year’s resolution of “work-life balance”.
- Set clear Boundaries: Define fixed working hours and stick to them. Create a clear transition between work and leisure time, for example by setting up a work area in your home and not working there after work.
- Prioritize Self-Care: Schedule regular breaks and activities that help you relax and recharge your batteries, such as sports, hobbies or time with friends and family.
- Learn to say no: Protect your time and resources by not taking on too many commitments. Be prepared to turn down requests or delegate tasks to avoid overload.
Being and staying Healthy in 2025
“Do more sport” is probably the most popular New Year’s resolution of all. And not without reason. Sport has countless health benefits, shapes the body and supports mental health.
Set yourself health goals, be it regular exercise, a better diet or more relaxation through meditation or yoga.
With joy, it almost happens by itself.
Health is our most valuable asset. Unfortunately, we often forget this in everyday life. That’s when our inner couch potato takes over again and we fall comfortably onto the couch. That’s why it’s important to find a sport that you enjoy.
Whether it’s in a group or on your own, try to make the sport as attractive as possible. And don’t forget to reward yourself regularly for your discipline. For example, with new sportswear.
For all Linzers
Since April 2024, there has been a social club in Linz called How Was Your Day Club, founded by Jennifer Burs. It enables people to do sport with like-minded people of any age or sporting ability. There are also lots of opportunities to discover new hobbies and make new friends.
Time for Social Contacts
You don’t have time, you make time. Prioritizing time with family and friends is nothing new. Therefore, this point merely serves as a small reminder to actually put this into practice.
Strong relationships promote emotional well-being and provide a strong support network that can be helpful in difficult times.
In addition, regular interactions promote personal development, broaden horizons and can lead to new opportunities in both the professional and private spheres.
Unfortunately, this New Year’s resolution is often neglected, so it’s best to actively plan time with your loved ones into your calendar and really prioritize it.
That's why hobbies are important
Hobbies are important because they not only help to reduce stress and improve general well-being, but also stimulate personal creativity and promote social contacts.
They also offer the opportunity to develop new skills and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Integrating a new hobby could be a great resolution for 2025.
Ideas for Hobbies:
- Sport (Yoga, Pilates, running, hiking, cycling, swimming, dancing, …)
- Creative (drawing, photography, making music, cooking, baking)
- Nature-related activities (gardening, fishing, birdwatching, …)
- Mental relaxation (reading, writing, puzzles)
- Social (board or card games, club activities, charitable work)
- Crafts (handicrafts, model making, DIY projects)
- Meditative activities (meditation, breathwork, knitting, crochet, embroidery)
Reduce Screen Time
The smartphone is a real time waster. Most of the time, we can’t even remember what we consumed on our cell phones during that time.
Consciously reduce your use of digital media and allow yourself regular screen-free times to organize your thoughts and relax.
Constant use of a smartphone, tablet or laptop can also have health consequences. Newsweek has an interesting article on that topic (2025).
How to leave high screen time behind in the old year
Therefore, set a few rules to integrate screen-free times into your everyday life. Apps that restrict access to certain apps, for example, can be helpful:
Apps that limit your screen time:
- one sec
- ScreenZen
- Unpluq
Forest
Conclusion and Recommendations
New Year’s resolutions often have a bad reputation because they are said not to be kept anyway. However, this is not because you set yourself new goals, but because of how you set these goals.
With my tips and inspiration, you will hopefully be able to make some sensible resolutions and put them into practice. Finally, I have a few recommendations for you to help you start the new year motivated.
Recommendations
- How to Make Next Year the Best Year – The Mel Robbins Podcast (Podcast)
- Atomic Habits – James Clear (Book)
Good luck and a Happy New Year!
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