How to Make the New Year

8/9/2019 How to Make the New Year

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How to make the new year’s resolution

http://www.fluentin3months.com/keep-a-new-years-resolution/

Every year around January 1st my in!o" #ets filled up with lan#ua#e learnerse"citedly declarin# to me their $ew %ear’s resolutions. &hey tell me this is theyear I will learn French! Learn Spanish! Learn Chinese!

&o all you resolved lan#ua#e learners out there hopin# to make '(1) the year you finally reach your lan#ua#e-learnin# #oals *’d like to offer a !it of#uidance in makin# your $ew %ear’s resolutions and actually keeping them .

&o do this *’ll share my own #oals for '(1) with you + !oth those * have formy lan#ua#es !ut also my other #oals as well + and *’ll tell you e"actly how *plan to achieve them. &he strate#y is the same for !oth.

“BAD” NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS TO AVOID,enerally most people’s $ew %ear’s resolutions tend to revolve around thesame themes. Here are some e"amples that are all technically thin#sthat I want to do in '(1):

ead more.E"ercise more.Eat healthier.

earn to swin# dance.erfect my 0rench.peak 2hinese !etter.

&hese are all bad goals to have mainly !ecause each one lacks specificity.&his is a #eneral theme with $ew %ear’s esolutions and it’s why * don’t even


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use the term myself and always prefer to model my life improvementsaround goals .

*’ve talked a!out this !efore !ut it !ears repeatin#: &o reach your #oals youhave to actually have a goal . %ou need an end-point that you can visuali eand know for sure whether or not you’re on track and when you’ve achievedit.

*f your #oal is to improve your 0rench how will you know when you’re done4 *f you want to read more how will you know if you’re on track4 Have youreached your #oal if you read for 1 day4 0or 3( days4 How can you #au#eyour pro#ress4

&he trick to makin# a $ew %ear’s resolution that actually sticks to isto vis ali!e "o # #esol tio$s i$ %o$%#ete te#&s' Here are some e"amples.

(Y )*+, NEW YEAR’S -OALS

&o show you what * mean here are several of my own #enuine #oals for '(1)all of which are much more specific versions of the va#ue 5resolutions6 a!ove:

ead 7( !ooks !y $ovem!er.un a half marathon !y 8arch.un a full marathon !y $ovem!er.estrict pasta chocolate and sodas to 1 day per week 9 aturday only

;e ready to swin# dance confidently as a very solid !e#inner !y$ovem!er.

&ake a mock 2' 9mastery level e"am in 0rench !y July.each ;' 9fluency in 8andarin !y $ovem!er.

TI. +/ 0REATE -OALS T1AT ARE S.E0I2I0 AND(EASURABLE


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uite useless !ecause of this.

%ou will also notice that 9apart from the weekly eatin# restriction all of my#oals have a s3e%i4i% deadli$e . ?ecem!er tends to involve travel and timewith family so if * am takin# on a lon#er-term #oal 9as you can ima#ine I

prefer three month goals… then it e$ds i$ Nove&be# at the latest.

TI. )/ ALLOW YOURSEL2 TO 2EEL A SENSE O2A00O(.LIS1(ENT AND .RO-RESS


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Each of the #oals *’vecreated means somethin# real to me. 0or e"ample when * say * want to learnthe !asics of swin# dancin# * say this !ecause *’ll !e attendin# a weddin# in$ovem!er and * hope to !e a!le to swin# dance at the reception.

?o * e"pect to !e ama in# at it4 ?o * want to compete at world-competitionlevels4 $o. $ot for now at least. * @ust e"pect to !e a!le to dance well in acasual settin#. &his is a realistic #oal especially since * will !e livin# inmultiple places and can only realistically #et a few classes per month.

8ay!e for '(17 or '(1A * can have more hefty #oals like trainin# for dancecompetitions !ut realistically dancin# at a specific weddin# is all * want to carea!out for now and that will make further improvement much easier.

*n my runnin# #oals *’ve also included two separate !enchmarks. 0irst a half-marathon then a marathon. *’ve !roken this up into separate milestones sothat * can feel pro#ress in the smaller wins rather than focusin# only on the!i##est possi!le endpoint.


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*f you’re a mem!er of my email list you know that * ended '(1B !y takin# amock 21 e"am with my 0rench teacher and that *’ve decided to make fluencyin 2hinese a priority for this year.

*’ve !een studyin# 0rench for years and this #oal is a sin#le point on a muchlon#er road.

*ma#ine if when * started studyin# each lan#ua#e years a#o my #oal was @ustto 5learn 0rench.6 * still wouldn’t !e thereC *nstead eve#" la$g age 3#o5e%tI’ve eve# had has bee$ based o$ &ilesto$es .

TI. 6/ 7NOW YOUR LI(ITATIONS AND DON’T LETSETBA07S DERAIL YOUR (O(ENTU(


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?on’t e"pect yourself to !e a super hero. ?on’t #ive yourself unrealistice"pectations like 5stop eatin# chocolate6 !ecause when you inevita!ly #ive into temptation you’re likely to #ive up your #oal entirely !ecause you’vealready 5failed.6

8y #oal of 5runnin# a half marathon6 mi#ht also !e an unrealistic #oal for me if * was a total new!ie at runnin#. retty much every successful marathonrunner *’ve come across has had smaller milestones.

0or instance the picture at the top of the post is me #ettin# ready to run myfirst ever 5K last year in Dalencia. *t took me two whole months to train myselfto !e a!le to run that much more modest distance and * was e8ha sted atthe end of itC

*’ve since pushed my !oundaries up to runnin# 1(k then runnin# the samedistance and feelin# #reat afterwards and continue to improve my enduranceand speed so that a half-marathon within 3 months is realistic.


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hen you make your #oals measura!le you can reco#ni e your pro#ressrather than your failures and use that to keep up your momentum. 2ele!rateall the weeks that you make pro#ress. 0ocus on your winsC

USE TOOLS TO TRA07 YOUR .RO-RESS

&he tools you use to reco#ni e your pro#ress will make a hu#e difference inyour success. Havin# loomin# reminders social competitions and otherpsycholo#ical motivators help a lot. Here are my favouritesC

La$g age goals

8y current favourite social tool for lan#ua#e learnin# is Memrise !ecause *find the daily/weekly/monthly score!oard to !e an e"cellent motivator. &histool is #reat if you have a specific num!er of words you want to memori ewith of course the e"cellent mnemonics that help you remem!er. 0ollow mehere .

Ove#all To9Do’s

* use 2oach.me 9formally iftfor my daily to-dos. * like this tool !ecause * can search for specific daily tasksthat may !e key to my lon#er term #oal that an entire community has #rown

around and * can tick each daily task from my smartphone.

%ou can follow me here 9keepin# in mind that ?ecem!er is my month off or check out the plan for lan#ua#e learners * made for that site here . * havepu!lic #oals * don’t mind others seein# for social feed!ack and can makeother #oals private.

http://memrise.com/http://www.memrise.com/user/irishpolyglot/http://www.memrise.com/user/irishpolyglot/http://coach.me/https://www.coach.me/users/ca4bd036fca64fb26b43/activityhttps://www.lift.do/plans/452-learn-to-speak-a-foreign-languagehttp://memrise.com/http://www.memrise.com/user/irishpolyglot/http://www.memrise.com/user/irishpolyglot/http://coach.me/https://www.coach.me/users/ca4bd036fca64fb26b43/activityhttps://www.lift.do/plans/452-learn-to-speak-a-foreign-language


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retty much every #oal you can ima#ine has a community around it on thatsiteC

Readi$g goals

,oodreads is !y far the !est community for sharin# readin# #oals with themost in-depth reviews of !ooks.


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&o #ive you even more inspiration here are the $ew %ear’s resolutions ofsome other mem!ers of &eam 0*38. hare your own in the commentsC

Bali$t

ead 1(( !ookseach 21 level in ,erman and pass the e"ameach solid ;' conversation level in panish

,o to the most $orthestern point of Europe !y car implify my life a !it more every week

0inish another *ronman 9if my !ack allows


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?o physical activity at least 3 times per week?ou!le the amount of money that * put into savin#s

La #e$

un a )k2ook my way throu#h =lton ;rown’s repertoire 9at least '( recipes

earn the !asics of swin# dancin#each ;' level in Esperantoeach ;1 level in ussianeach =' level in 0rench

7itti%hai


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earn at least 1 F(( Joyo Gan@iead 1( !ooks in Japanese

E"ercise at least for 3( minutes 3 times a week.ake up !efore 7:3( am

,o to the !eachC

David

aint the dinin# room 9we’re aimin# to have this finished on Jan 1Caint new carpet in the #uest !edroom

aint new carpet in my office0ully clear my wife’s new allotment eat ve#eta!les #rown on it.

pend at least one weekend in complete silenceead an avera#e of 1 !ook per week 9)' !ooks

$ow it’s your turnC hat are your #oals for '(1)4 How can you ad@ust your#oals to !e measura le or to create milestones to measure your pro#ress4

Documents

How to Make the New Year