The Harvard Business Review website published the following recommendations on what you should do to be able to fulfill your goals this year (or whenever).
1. Be as specific as possible
Set your goals so that they clearly describe the outcomes you want to achieve. Then include ways to achieve results (eg. losing 10 kg in three months by exercising an hour a day at the gym, jogging for x kilometers, eating this and that etc.).
2. Be realistic
Believe that you can accomplish your goals, but don't underestimate what you have to do to achieve them. Most meaningful goals require a lot of effort and time. If you think that everything is simple, you'll probably fail. You need strong willpower, but even that can't help you if you overrate your abilities.
3. Plan your time
You should also clearly set out when you're going to work on meeting your goals so that you can't make excuses due to lack of time. Your brain will learn to see opportunities to meet your goals as they occur.
4. Monitor your progress
Review how you are doing in achieving your goals regularly. You can also involve other people to help you. If you don't know how you're doing, you can't improve. Focus not only on what you're good at, but on the possibilities of improving your knowledge and skills.
5. Don't focus on bad habits
Research confirms that when we only think about the need to get rid of a bad habit very generally, we actually make the inappropriate behavior even worse. You should therefore focus your attention on ways to get rid of the habit. Ask yourself specifically what you can do differently and do it.
-kk-