How to Succeed at Your Resolutions Any Time of Year

The new year is a time when we typically set goals and make resolutions to better ourselves over the coming months, to make this year "our year." But no matter the time of year we create resolutions, our follow-through on them is always the most important factor. Even if you are reading this later into 2020, it's in your best interest to continue to see how you can set yourself up for success.

Below you will find eight questions. Answering them and drawing a plan from them will significantly increase your chances of success this time. I recommend not just answering them in your head but taking notes of your answers, so you can do the follow-up described below, which will further increase your chances of success.

Gain Clarity on Your Motivation, Strengths and Obstacles

1. Why is this resolution important to you? What is the deeper motivation behind it? How does it pertain to something really meaningful in your life? Is this the best place to be investing your efforts for improvement and development right now or is it just the easy way out? On a scale from 1 (no impact) to 10 (life-changing impact) how great would the impact of this resolution be if you succeeded fully?

2. What steps have you taken so far? Have you made a plan? Thought about how you are going to achieve your goal? Done research on the topic to find out what others have done to succeed in similar situations?

3. What has stopped you from making progress? So far this year or when you previously tried, what has impeded your progress? Why didn't you succeed? How have you succeeded in other challenges? What has helped you stay strong and disciplined in the past?

4. How will you overcome these obstacles/challenges? What strengths and skills do you have that can help you? How can you best leverage them to your advantage in this case? What about your network and other resources you have available to you?

5. Is there someone who can help you? Could a mentor or coach help you succeed? Might your mastermind group, your colleague, co-founder, assistant or direct report help take on parts of the job to enable you to succeed sooner and more effortlessly? Might a family member be able to support you by temporarily relieving you of some of your responsibilities at home? The important thing is to have a conversation with the person or people who can help you. Together, you can set clear goals to make sure your expectations are aligned.

6. What will be your first step toward achieving your resolution? Have you made it as concrete and actionable as possible? How can you make it SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) so that you can actually evaluate whether you have succeeded or not?

7. How will you quantify your actions to track your progress? How can you make all your steps measurable? How can you keep track of your progress? How can you make this tracking process as effortless and efficient as possible?

8. What is the one thing that will change for good if you accomplish this task? What impact will this have on your life and work? How will it make your life better, easier, etc.? How will this one thing affect the bigger picture? What trickle effects might it have?

Set Yourself up for Success

Now, review your answers and draw up a plan.

• Mark a few major milestones. You could start by determining what the "halfway point" might be then drawing up two or three milestones respectively before and after.

• Define the first three steps in great detail. Make sure they are simple and clear. If they end up being complex tasks, break them down further. For example, if your resolution is to use your time better, you might have the following milestones:

1. Identify at least three time-wasters and three distractions.

2. Consistently work on my two top priorities for the day before I do other things.

3. By the halfway point, be 10% more productive (e.g. have 10% more billable hours/month) while working the same hours.

4. Have fewer distraction breaks; start and finish on-time more often.

5. Spend more time doing deep work.

Your first three steps might be:

1. Become aware of what pulls me out of deep work

2. Observe how I spend my time for one week, take a few notes every couple of hours

3. Evaluate my notes and see where I lose time and get distracted

• Keep yourself motivated by starting every day with five minutes of telling yourself that you are going to succeed. As soon as you wake up — while brushing your teeth or taking your morning shower — tell yourself, "I am going to succeed" over and over again, for about five minutes.

• Track your progress. Set aside 10 minutes at the end of each week to check in on your goals and set new ones for the next week.

Increase Your Chances Of Success

• Pace yourself, and you will get to your destination, just like when you're climbing a mountain. If you find after a while that you can do more, increase the load mindfully.

• Take a small action every day to maintain momentum rather than planning to take a big action once a week.

• Don't dismay if you don't succeed immediately. Just accept that it hasn't worked yet and try again next week.

• Reflect on what distracted or hindered you during your weekly progress check-ins. If you come up with an answer immediately, great, you can do something about it. If not, don't spend to much time here. Just continue with a more watchful attitude, and next week, you might have more answers.

This article first appeared on Forbes.