If you’re like me, then you are facing one of the quietest days of the year: New Year’s Day.  It is a day full of promise, with too little sleep and perhaps the results of one drink too many.

But it won’t be long before you realize that 2009 has begun in earnest with or without you.  Now is the time to reflect on what you want to achieve professionally and personally.  Here are four points to consider when starting out with resolutions and how to make them work for you.

1.    Write out a narrative of your story for the year.  This is more than a thought exercise.  Sit at the computer and write a story–your own story–of you starring in the year 2009.  What is it that the character overcomes?  What is the central challenge that you expect to face?  What disappointments could the character face along the way?  Who does the character meet along the way?  Where does the character go?  The trick is to write this in the past tense, as though the year 2009 is over and someone was writing a news story about your successes.  Here’s an example:

“Andrew toasted his friends on Christmas Eve, 2009, in celebration of his achievements.  It was only eleven months earlier that he left his job in human resource planning to pursue his dream as an author.  He spent two exciting months writing short essays, which turned into chapters of his book.  He earned a living by teaching English part-time in Seoul, while networking with publishers at events throughout Asia.  He completed his book by the summer while vacationing in Thailand, and he submitted his manuscript in August.  It was then he waited painfully for three and a half months without a single reply.  His answer came in an e-mail on the same day he sent his last rent check.  It was a book deal offering him a rewarding career as a published author.”

It may sound far fetched, but this beats muddled thoughts and daydreams on the subway.  Many people have found profound results from the mere act of putting words on paper, connecting your hopes and dreams and goals in a coherent albeit imaginary timeline.  It is as though the act of writing something–and in the case of blogging, the act of publicizing–your plans, you are initiating the plan itself.

2.    Break up the year into quarters.   Corporations do it.  They even put out reports to the media and their shareholders.  It’s a great idea to take that application and put it to your own life.  You are your most important shareholder, and from time to time, you need to report to yourself how well you’re doing this year! 

Periodically we need to stop to think on the results of what we are doing.  Measurement is a key factor to any endeavor.  We need to be honest with ourselves and frequently ask ourselves, “What is this?  Am I doing what I should be doing?”   Answering these self-tests allows us to make adjustments or re-direct our energies as needed. 

Chunking the year into these 3-month segments also gives us a realistic picture of what can be accomplished in a year.  In my view, you have 4 opportunities for midterm goals.  Lastly, don’t forget to reward yourself at each quarterly waypoint.  If you don’t take a vacation, then you may have just lost yourself in your work.  We all know the results of that path.

3.    Have a savings objective.   I cannot emphasize enough how important proper funding makes things happen.  Your transitions this year–be they a change in workplace, a move out of your apartment, a total career shift, or entrance to professional school–you need money to make any of it happen.  Therefore, a serious savings plan must be enforced.  More information can be found online.  Here’s a start [mint.com] where you can find resources, articles, and software. 

4.    It won’t happen exactly as you planned.  It sounds a bit contradictory with point 1, but it isn’t.  Take a zen approach to life and understand that no one knows for certain how their life will turn out one minute from now or one year from now.  A lot can happen.  Very little can happen, and neither are good nor bad.  But what we can do is stay sharp each day, and keep our senses open to all sorts of opportunity that await us as we make our chosen journey.  For instance, a friend of mine was so obsessed with getting into law school in one particular year that he nearly passed on the chance to visit me and another friend one Christmas night.  He decided–against all reason–to come out and join me instead of studying for his LSAT.  He would meet his future wife that night, and he didn’t take the LSAT that year.  He would take it the next year and enter a top law school the following year.  So, in the end, he benefitted from both chance and plans, even better than he had imagined.

I hope this is helpful, and feel free to add your own tips in the comments section!  I’d like to hear what else has helped you achieve your goals.

–By Julius Kim

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