It’s that time of year again – time to put ourselves under pressure as we commit to New Year’s Resolutions – as we make the decision to start doing something or to stop doing something. That’s right, the two words that most people commit to, start and stop. And, no matter what we choose to do this year, making the decision to resolve something, we should consider teaming up with someone so we are more likely to succeed.

Make this year different, make it successful. We all know that come March, we have left our New Year’s Resolutions behind us, mostly unsuccessful. But, this year we have a chance to change that. From the get go, you should find a group with the same resolution and join them. Whether you look within your community, find a group in the local paper, or ask someone you know who has successfully completed your goal in the past. The key to success is to reach out to others and commit.

Reaching out to others doesn’t have to be hard. If you find your community lacking in resources, turn to the internet. A quick Google search will list niche based groups. Go ahead and choose the ones you are interested in, sign up, and post often. It is key to keep up to date and in contact with your group, or else they won’t be able to offer you the resources you need. Groups are great, as the members range in experience and offer lots of opportunity to learn and grow. Remember though, stay within the group and try not to get to personal and one-on-one. A variety of opinions allows you to choose what works best for your lifestyle and also generates easier grounds for success.

If you aren’t ready for a support group, try a buddy system. As long as you have someone to report to, your resolution will be taken more seriously. Keep in mind, your buddy doesn’t necessarily have to have the same resolutions as you, just a friend willing to help you with yours is just a beneficial. Either way, make it a habit to check-in at least once a week, if not more, and be sure to honestly outline your setbacks and progress. Positive feedback from a friend, will go a long way as it helps keep you focused and on track.

No matter who you turn to this year to help you with your New Year’s Resolutions, make sure you are prepared in advanced. This year, before New Year’s Day, take a moment to research your goals to learn as much as you can about them. Having the knowledge will make it easier, not only will it help to overcome any hurdles, it will set you up know what you’re dedicating yourself to from the start.

I know a friend who tried to quit smoking three times before they succeeded. It wasn’t until they found out that they would feel flu like symptoms during the progress that they succeeded. In previous attempts, each time they felt sick, they decided to smoke again and suddenly they felt better. It wasn’t until they joined an online group that they learned the truth and haven’t had a cigarette since.

In the end, remember that change can be hard and stressful. This year you can make those New Year’s Resolutions successful with one piece of advice – skip out on going solo!

Are you struggling to get things done? Do you wish you could get the most out of your time? If so, then reading this entire article will be very important for you. I’m going to reveal the simple strategies of effective time management so you fully maximize your time.

But first I would like to discuss 5 ways we lose control our time on a daily basis…

1. We Accidentally Lose Minutes and Purposely Throw Away Hours

You do this so much that you may have become completely blind that you’re doing it daily. you accidentally lose minutes when your focus drifts away from what you should be doing.

Like when you find yourself day dreaming while you’re working at your desk. By the day’s end you probably lose many minutes because of the lack of focus at times.

So how exactly do you purposely throw away hours? Well, when you decide to exchange a productive activity for a no-brainier activity that’s when you end up losing hours.

How many times have you decided put off an important project to instead go hang out with your friends. If you’re like me than it’s happened plenty of times. And it’s very detrimental towards effective time management.

2. We Don’t Plan or Prioritize Our Day Before It Starts

if you don’t plan out your day before hand, how will you know if you were as productive as you could be?

By not planning out your day you’re leaving the activities for the day up to memory. And how many times have you been like “ah shoot! I forgot to pickup my suit at the cleaners!”

This could be avoided with better planning and prioritization.

3. Our Time is Literally Stolen

This is where daily distractions such as people, pets, telephone calls, checking email, etc rob you of your time. Many people realize how much of their time is being stolen daily.

You must know what’s robbing you of your time if you’re going to fully maximize your time.

4. We Let Urgency Take Precedence Over Our Priorities

It’s understandable that urgency are highly important and you must tend to them. But that doesn’t mean you should allow urgency to suck away all the time you need for your priorities!

You must figure an efficient way to handle urgency so you can quickly get back to what is truly important with your time.

5. We Procrastinate and Put Important Things Off Until Later

I’ve said millions of times. And I’ll say it again. Procrastination is the killer of your goals and lifestyle of your dreams. Procrastination is like a sickly disease that can be highly contagious. Just being around lazy people can make you lazy too!

Here are just a few reasons why you might procrastinate: You sense no urgency with the activity, you don’t find the activity fun or pleasant to do, the activity is outside of your comfort zone and it doesn’t come easy for you, fear of failure, you don’t perceive the real value of the activity, you lack the knowledge you need to get it done right now…

Now that I’ve discussed the 5 ways in which we lose control of our time, I would like to discuss the simple strategies you can use the effectively manage your time better:

1. Force Yourself to Focus On the Present
2. Plan Out the Hour Blocks of Your Day
3. Learn to Delegate Time Consuming Activities That Can Wisely Be Delegated
4. Identify Time Robbers and Figure a Way to Handle Them
5. Plan and Prioritize Your Day Before it Starts. Then Prioritize the Activities by Their Importance.

New Year’s Resolutions are just around the corner. With that in mind, I took some time out to see what the Government of the USA listed as the most popular resolutions. Let’s take a look:

1. Lose weight.

With gym memberships going on sale and flyers full of treadmills, the first is probably the most obvious – to lose weight. Most of the time, people who resolve to lose weight picture themselves with model sized bodies.

But the truth is, according the WIN (Weight-Control Information Network), “A weight loss of 5 to 7 percent of body weight may improve your health and quality of life, and it may prevent weight-related health problems, like type 2 diabetes. For a person who weighs 200 pounds, this means losing 10 to 14 pounds.” Keep this in mind when you are imagining that “picture perfect” model sized body. Instead of striving to be media sized, strive to be healthy with a New Year’s Resolution of losing 5 – 7 pounds – a resolution with high benefits that most are able to succeed at.

2. Manage debt.

Another popular resolution, with no surprise, is to manage debt. With the economy the way it is, even the most careful of consumers have found themselves losing jobs and slowly falling into the empty money pit. This year, make your New Year’s Resolution count.

The Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Protection offers excellent guidance on realistic budgeting, credit counseling from a reputable organization, debt consolidation, debt negotiation, and bankruptcy. No matter what the financial situation is that you face, take a moment to get yourself back on track and focused on eliminating your debt, and call this year’s resolution a success.

3. Spend less.

Hand in hand with debt management, is the resolution to spend less. The most common approach to this New Year’s Resolution is to do with less and stop buying things we would usually buy. But, you can make an even more successful attempt by checking out 66 Ways to Save Money from the Consumer Literacy Consortium. We can make this year’s resolution successful by changing how we spend instead of whether to spend.

4. Get a better job

The next resolution on the list is to get a better job. Most people are constantly looking to improve, and a new job is a definite way to do so. Maybe you want another job in the same field, or you’re looking to change fields altogether. Before you go looking to hard, make sure you’re informed. Get the latest information on current salaries and benefits, and make sure you have an up-to-date resume and you’re prepared for interviews. To make this New Year’s Resolution successful this year, get help with these issues and more at the Career One Stop.

5. Get fit

Another top resolution is to get fit. And, even though most people start out successful they often fall short on boredom and lack of variety within their exercise routine. Instead of allowing this to happen, get fit successfully. Try the President’s Challenge. From aerobics to yoga, fishing to diving, bowling to trampoline, you’ll find hundred of activities to choose from that will keep you interested and motivated to succeed.

6. Education

With people losing jobs, looking for a career change or striving to make a difference in where they are going, a lot of people are making a New Year’s Resolution to get a better education. For some, this resolution might see impossible – lack of money, lack of time, etc.

Here are some suggestions to make this resolution a little more successful. If you are an adult who didn’t finish high school, there are night classes that allow you to work around you work schedule at your own pace. Perhaps you didn’t finish your B.A., M.A. or Ph.D., make a phone call to your alma mater to get started. If you’re looking for distance education that can be taken one class at a time as you can afford it, try Athabasca University, an online distance education that offers fully accredited degrees.

7. Get rid of bad habits

With New Year’s Resolutions, comes the idea of quitting bad habits. For some, drinking less alcohol and quitting smoking are the top to resolve on their list. A great way to reduce you alcohol intake is to drink more slowly, alternate drinks with non-alcoholic beverages, or quit those “quick drinks” you have on a regular basis. If smoking is on your list, try will power to quit cold turkey. If this isn’t your option, get support from others on sites like Quitnet. Either of these resolutions can be resolved successfully, you just need to take advantage of the loads of information that is available to you.

8. Reduce stress

The last New Year’s Resolution, and possibly one that has an impact on all of our others, is to reduce stress. This first step for this resolution is to identify what is stressing you out. Be specific, don’t just say “my job” or “my family”. Once you have identified them, learn how you can avoid, alter, adapt or accept them. Although this maybe a hard resolution to succeed with, check out HelpGuide to get a great deal of information and help along the way.

As you can see, it takes research and commitment to keep New Year’s Resolutions. If you make a plan, stick with them and use all the help available, you will succeed.