New year, new you, right? If you’re like most people, you’ll be familiar with making grand plans for self-improvement, saving money, finally clearing the garage, and perhaps decluttering your closet or email inbox. But you’ll also have found that all too easily, life gets in the way and your goals fall by the wayside. 

So, what causes you to fail? Invariably, it’s because you haven’t made proper, structured plans that keep you on track to achieve your goals. How can you change this to have a realistic chance of reaching those goals? Here are four steps (and a few apps) to help you make the most out of 2023: 

1. Separate your goals into groups 

Nobody’s life is about one thing. You may work, play, learn, socialise, and pursue your own interests – which is all good. But when you pour your goals for all these facets of your life into one bucket, it becomes overwhelming. That’s why it's best to split goals into different groups. 

The two most basic ones are “professional” and “personal”. You can also create groups, such as health, finances, holidays, hobbies, etc. It’s then easier to define your vision and the steps you must take to achieve your goals. It’ll also help you be realistic and avoid overwhelming yourself. Remember to set aside time to re-energise your mind and body. 

2. Draw up a plan 

Your goals and desires are your intended outcomes – and to reach them, you need a plan. Start by making a list of tasks for each goal. What will it take to get the results you want? Reviewing your experiences over the past year or in recent months will yield clues as to what did and didn't work, and what habits helped or hindered you. If you can’t identify these, or it's a new activity, do some research. Then define steps you can take and a timeline for the steps. 

Don't plan goals beyond a year. In fact, it’s best to plan them just for the next 90 days. Distant goals are hard to maintain and one of the reasons New Year's resolutions tend to fail. More immediate goals, on the other hand, give you greater satisfaction and a regular view of your progress. Once you have a plan, revisit it weekly, and spend a little time scheduling the week’s activities.   

3. Create routines 

We're creatures of habit; if you want to change something in your life, change your habits. It's a proven fact that your habits determine your success. Habits connect the dots between your tasks and goals. To build good habits, you must reinforce them, which means you need a routine. 

Without a routine, your plans are just ideas you wrote down. Look at your goals and tasks, then look at your days and where you can make space to repeat them. For example, if you want to exercise regularly, maybe you can find 30 minutes in the morning. Be realistic. You might want to exercise an hour a day, but is that possible? Rather than doing nothing, accept you have 30 minutes and make the most of it. Consistency is very powerful.  

But be flexible; life is full of surprises, and sometimes your routine will be interrupted. Don't be hard on yourself. Just get back on that horse, knowing failure is also part of the journey to success. 

4. Celebrate! 

Goals can be hard to achieve, and it's discouraging when you don't seem to be closing in on them. Yet that is often a trick of the mind: you’re so intent on the end goal that you don’t stop to appreciate where you are now. This mindset makes you feel exhausted, demotivated and deceives you about your progress.  

Achieving something is rarely a straight journey, and you must accept the twists, turns, and barriers. Imagine hiking up a mountain: You celebrate when you get to the summit, but now and then you pause on the way up, admire the view, and think, "Wow, look how far I've come!" Celebrate your progress. Yes, achieving your goals is a cause for celebration, but the journey there also gives you those good feelings. By celebrating your progress, you build the mental stamina to keep going. 

Useful apps 

Here are some great tools to help you organise and track your progress: 

Workflowy: This free online software lets you easily make bullet lists and to-do lists, rearranging and tweaking your tasks and priorities. You can also convert lists into boards to drag and drop different tasks and assign deadline dates.

Habitica: Learning a new habit is tricky because your pre-existing habits demand your attention. Habitica is a fun way to change that. Use this website and app to define habits, set tasks and goals for a new positive habit, and earn rewards when you hit milestones. It's entertaining and easy to use.   

WhatsApp voice notes: It's convenient to make a quick voice when you get an idea and to listen to it again later. Did you know you can send WhatsApp voice messages to yourself? Tap on the chat icon at the bottom of WhatsApp and open the “Select contact” screen; you'll see your number is the first contact! Just send a message to that contact. Only you will see it. Note: If this option isn’t available, update your WhatsApp app to the latest version. 

Toggl Track: Track your time to see where it all goes. Toggl Track is a powerful free web and phone app to help you keep tabs on the time spent on any given project. Though most people use such apps to determine billing hours, they’re also excellent for seeing what's really happening with your time.

Another Important Factor For Success

All of these tools can work wonders not only on your productivity but also on your ability to plan and make the most of your time. Another thing that helps with this is an uninterrupted and fast connection. With Vodacom Fibre you not only get free installation with a router, but while you wait for your installation, you get free LTE for one month. Check if there is fibre in your area and get a Vodacom Fibre deal that suits you.