The Follow-Through Problem: How to Keep Your New Year's Goals Alive

linnearader
Jan 21
6 min read

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcqvRneiNus

Audio version for your listening pleasure!

So, you set your New Year's resolutions. You did the work. You made them specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. You broke them down into steps. You felt motivated and ready.

And now here we are in mid-January, and the momentum is already starting to fade.

Sound familiar?

Here's the uncomfortable truth: I have set more goals and forgotten about them than I can even remember. And I'm someone who TEACHES this stuff. I write blog posts about it. I help organizations develop strategic plans.

And I still struggle with follow-through.

So if you're sitting there worried that your New Year's goals won't make it to February, let me tell you: you're not alone. The follow-through problem isn't about lack of willpower or commitment or discipline. It's about something much more basic.

You're about to forget they exist.

The Out of Sight, Out of Mind Reality

"They're just sitting there, patiently waiting for you to remember they exist."

Here's what actually happens with most New Year's resolutions:

You set them with great intentions. You write them down. Maybe you even share them with someone. You feel motivated and ready to make changes.

Then you go back to work. Back to your regular life. Back to the endless stream of emails and meetings and problems and deadlines and everything else that fills your days.

And your goals? They're in a document somewhere. Or a notebook. Or that Excel spreadsheet you created on January 1st. They're not in your face. They're not demanding your attention. They're just sitting there, patiently waiting for you to remember they exist.

Except you won't. Not for weeks. Sometimes not for months.

I know this because I've done it. Many, many times.

Why Goals Die by February

Scrabble squares spelling February — Why Goals Die by February

People abandon their New Year's resolutions by February because accountability is hard. It's a lot of work to keep this new goal in your mind and work towards it. We are all busy, we all have things to do, and goals feel like just one more thing.

But there's something else going on too: sometimes the change that goes along with the goal is scary and unknown.

What will things really be like if I attain my goal? What will I do next? How will I handle this change?

It's easier to let the goal slip away than to confront what success might actually require or look like.

When Goals Don't Have Enough Why

Let me tell you about a goal I abandoned.

I used to have a goal of attaining a national certification for my organization. I thought it would be amazing. It was a huge process with tons of steps and required buy-in that didn't exist.

I could hold meetings. I could set reminders. I could send memos. But I couldn't make anyone do anything they didn't want to do. And this certification? It was a TON of work with rewards that were hard to see the point of.

So after years of struggle, I abandoned the goal.

Looking back, I think it was a status thing. The why for the organization wasn't strong enough to justify the mountains of work.

Here's what I learned: if the WHY isn't strong enough, no amount of accountability structures will make you follow through. You'll find reasons to deprioritize it. You'll let other things take precedence. You'll convince yourself it doesn't really matter.

And maybe you're right. Maybe that goal doesn't matter enough. Maybe it's the wrong goal to begin with.

When Follow-Through Actually Works

"The why was HUGE. There was meaning, buy-in, and need."

Now let me tell you about a goal that succeeded.

I set a goal to develop a leadership program for members of our organization to allow them to grow and learn. The goal had a TON of meaning. Thirteen people signed up. The organization had a need for leaders. The why was HUGE. There was meaning, buy-in, and need.

Accountability for success was built right in. There were accountability partners all over the place: the participants, the other directors, people relying on the program's success.

The program has been a huge success.

See the difference? When the why is strong enough and when accountability is built into the goal itself, follow-through becomes much easier. Not easy, but easier.

Making New Year's Goals Visible

Put goals on a whiteboard and keep them visible. — Make your goals visible

To truly be accountable to your goals, they need a way of coming into your sphere of consciousness. They can't live in a drawer or a forgotten document. They need to be in your face, regularly.

Here are some ways to do that:

Block time on your schedule. Put recurring appointments with yourself to review your goals. Monthly, at minimum. Weekly is better. Treat these appointments like you would any other meeting. They're non-negotiable.

Get an accountability partner. Share your goals with someone. They share theirs with you. You vow to hold each other accountable. Check in regularly. Ask the hard questions. This is probably one of the best ways to maintain follow-through.

Make them physically visible. Do you have a picture frame on your wall you could put a few words in that would remind you? A whiteboard you can put your actual goals on? A place where you can have a reminder that brings the goal to your focal point regularly?

Keep them in your forefront. Create your virtual sticky note on your desktop, or notes on your whiteboard in the office. The specific method doesn't matter as much as the principle: your goals need to be visible and present in your daily life.

The Mid-Year Check-In You Need to Schedule Now

"Goals drift. Priorities shift. Life happens."

Here's something crucial: you need to schedule a mid-year check-in right now, while you're thinking about it.

Because here's what happens without it: goals drift. Priorities shift. Life happens. And unless you're deliberately stopping to assess where you are, you can get to December and realize you made almost no progress on something that mattered in January.

Put it in your calendar today. Block time in June or July for a formal review. Make it non-negotiable.

The Accountability Partner Advantage

Of all the strategies for follow-through, having accountability partners is probably the most effective.

Here's why: it's easy to let yourself off the hook. It's easy to tell yourself you'll get to it next week. It's easy to rationalize why you haven't made progress.

It's much harder to look someone else in the eye and explain why you haven't done what you said you would do.

Find someone who's also working on goals. Set up regular check-ins, weekly or monthly. Share what you're working on. Ask each other the hard questions. Celebrate wins together. Call each other out (kindly) when you're making excuses.

The best accountability partners aren't cheerleaders who tell you everything is fine. They're people who care enough about you to push you when you need pushing and support you when you're struggling.

Your January Follow-Through Plan

Here's what you need to do right now to keep your New Year's resolutions alive:

This week: Create visibility. Put reminders everywhere. Set up your accountability systems. Block time for monthly reviews through December.

This month: Review your goals weekly. Start building the habits that will carry you through the year. Celebrate small wins. Keep goals visible and present.

Schedule now: Put your mid-year check-in on the calendar for June. Make it a formal appointment with yourself to assess progress, make adjustments, and recommit.

Find your person: Identify an accountability partner this week. Set up your first check-in. Don't wait until it feels convenient.

How to Keep your goals alive

New Year Resolutions are challenging, not impossible!

Following through on goals is hard work. It requires consistent effort, regular attention, and ongoing commitment.

Most people don't do it. Most New Year's resolutions die quiet deaths before Valentine's Day.

But you know what? You don't have to be most people.

You can be someone who sets goals and actually achieves them. Not because you have more willpower or more time or fewer obligations. But because you're willing to do the work of keeping goals alive and present throughout the year.

You can be someone who shows up in December and looks back at January's goals and sees real progress, real growth, real accomplishment.

That person is available to you. But you have to choose it. Every day. Every week. Every month.

Your Follow-Through Challenge

Here's what I want you to do right now:

Pull out the goals you set on January 1st
Put them somewhere visible, today, not next week
Schedule monthly reviews for every month through December
Find an accountability partner and set up your first check-in
Identify the ONE thing you can do this week to make progress on your most important goal

Don't wait until you have the perfect system. Don't wait until you're less busy. Don't wait until it feels easier.

Start now. Keep going. Adjust as needed.

That's how New Year's resolutions actually get accomplished.

How do you maintain follow-through on your goals? What accountability systems work for you? Share your strategies in the comments. We can all learn from each other.

As always, carry social kindness with you everywhere you go. The world needs you and your positive mindset!