Resource Roundup: 5 Ways to Achieve Your 2020 Resolutions

This is 2020. (I’ve always wanted to say that.)

We hope you’re as excited as we are about the goals you’ve set for the new year. If you haven’t had a chance to set your facility’s goals, use these helpful business intelligence analytics to reflect on 2019, and make sure your 2020 targets are set up correctly from the start.

So you have your goals, but if you’re like many of us, you might be feeling a little overwhelmed thinking about how to get started achieving them now that 2020 is actually here. If you don’t want your resolutions to fail this year, check out these five resource tips to help you take your goals from set to success.

1. Subscribe to a new blog or podcast.

Nothing gets me motivated to drive forward like learning something new.

Read an article or book, watch a YouTube video or listen to a podcast on whatever subject you wish to learn about. In no time, this habit will spark creativity in how you look at problems, perceive yourself and your team and, overall, will help you lead better.

My favorite way to find a new resource is to identify a skill I want to improve and then use those keywords to search for the best blogs, books, podcasts or other resources on the subject. This allows me to find new sources to get my information, and when I land on one that’s particularly good, I’ll subscribe to it. When subscribing to a new podcast, I tend to prefer those where hosts interview others versus being the “one source of truth” for a subject.

Now is a great time to find a new podcast series, because many of them have just compiled Best of 2019 episodes, which can give you insights into some of the most thought-provoking moments and special guests of last year. For example, the next one on my playlist: The Best of 2019-Our Biggest Takeaways for Business Leaders. Also, if Attraction Pros – an amusement industry specific podcast – isn’t already on your list, you should definitely check it out.

2. Work through a book on your desired goal(s).

A lot of people commit to reading, but many don’t take the time to work through the exercises and tasks that actually develop the desired habit(s). Accompanying workbooks or “homework” activities are extremely useful to help you absorb the lessons and grow from what you’ve read. Plus, these workbooks usually provide a step-by-step guide to help you get the very best from your efforts.

Some of our favorite books for personal and professional development are:

• Building a Storybrand by Donald Miller: Use as a business framework for finding your company’s purpose and voice in your market and to clarify your marketing messages.
• The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor: Become a happier individual and learn how to use a better outlook to become a more successful leader or individual contributor. If you’ve already read this, check out his latest book, Big Potential, to further develop yourself and your team.
• The Success Principles, by Jack Canfield: Learn how to distill your life or business goals, get honest about the work that it will take to achieve them, and build the habits that will help you win.

3. Use a productivity app.

Whether you like gamification for your habits or prefer a system that helps you ensure your goals are SMART, there are hundreds of mobile apps and websites designed to help you set, track and measure your success toward any personal or professional goal.

Apps like Strides (iOS only), Way of Life and HabitBull Habit Tracker offer you goal setting support, charts to stay motivated and tips and tools to get organized. If you’d prefer more of a project management focus, apps like Monday.com, Asana and Trello all offer tools for individuals and teams.

4. Build a Life Planner.

There is a lot to be said for writing goals and tasks down on paper, and people who write goals down in vivid detail are 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to successfully accomplish those goals, according to a neuroscientific study. This could mean writing, drawing or mind mapping by hand – anything that can help you visualize your roadmap to success.

Journaling and bullet journaling are trendy activities that many people are using to stay focused and on track. Erin Condren’s line of planners have ready-made and customizable planners that give you a centralized place for capturing your goals and progress towards them, and they can be used to organize any and every aspect of your life. If you’d rather use an electronic journal, OneNote and Evernote are great tools as well, and can sync across multiple devices.

5. Get focused on fun.

You have a lot to do and there will be times when the pressure of all you have to accomplish can make it easy to forget that this is the fun business. The freelancers at Fiverr.com put together this adorable calendar that I think we should all download and print to help bring a smile to our faces during the tough moments, and help us build a richer, more rewarding 2020. Enjoy.

We’d love to know how you’ve begun tackling your 2020 goals. Share your insights with us in the comments or on Twitter.