It’s a brand new year, and after the excesses of the festive season, you’re probably rolling into 2019 with a list of virtuous new year’s resolutions. But keeping those resolutions? That’s a whole other ball game. If you want to make sure your new year’s resolutions stick this year, be sure to incorporate these tips and tricks — you’re practically guaranteed to succeed and reach all your goals!

Think small

New year’s resolutions aren’t about huge life changes, so set small goals throughout the year. Want to exercise more? Try for a 30-minute walk every day instead of a 24-month gym membership. Be realistic, not overly ambitious, and you’ll be on your way to keeping your new year’s resolutions for 2019.

Be specific

Are your resolutions usually vague? Then you’re probably setting yourself up for a fail. Be very specific about your goals, and phrase them in a way where you’ll be able to see results easily. Want to read more? Challenge yourself to finish a book a week in 2019! Tangible goals are more attainable, so they’ll be easier to reach.

Put a time limit on it

Whatever your goals are, having a time frame for achieving them will help you stick to them. For example, if you’re trying to polish your piano skills, set yourself the goal of being able to play “Für Elise” within six months. This acts as a benchmark – if you’re still figuring out your C key from your A and B, you’ll know it’s time to knuckle down and put in more effort.

Put it in your diary

Treat your resolution like a business meeting you have to go to. Build the resolution into your schedule, so that with enough planning and preparation, it’s easier to stick to. Book gym classes that penalize you if you miss them, do your meal prep between 5pm-7pm on Sundays, or do date night with your partner on the first Friday of every month. Whatever your resolution, plug it into your diary, and make no excuses.

Do it little by little

For the overly ambitious, it can be tempting to chase several new year’s resolutions at once. Don’t. Too many life changes at once is overwhelming, and sets you up to fail on all of them. You’ll be more likely to keep to your resolutions if you pick just one or two to focus on. If you really want to, you could pick a few and build in time to adjust to each one — for example, begin one new resolution each month, so you’ll have four(ish) weeks to get used to it before adding another.

Tell everyone (really!)

We all know peer pressure is a bad thing, but you can use it for good if you’re determined to stick to your new year’s resolutions in 2019! Don’t be shy about telling the people around you what your goals are for 2019 — it’ll keep you accountable. Because how silly will you feel when your friends rib you about ordering steak and chips at dinner when you’ve been going on about eating clean in the new year?

Don’t sweat the small stuff

You’re only human, so cut yourself some slack. There will be times that, despite all your best intentions, you missed that gym session, your ate a little too much, or you didn’t have time for your partner. That’s okay. You slipped up, but do yourself a favor — forgive yourself, remember the guilt you’re feeling, then get back on track. It can only get better, right?

Patience is a virtue

We all know it, but how much do we actually live by this? We love instant gratification, but with resolutions, that’s probably just not going to happen. Don’t be discouraged if it takes time to adjust to your new efforts, or if you see big progress one week and much less the next — you’ll need to have a big picture perspective since changes don’t happen overnight.. They say good things come to those who wait, and that’s a mantra you’ll need to adopt if you want your new year’s resolutions to succeed.

Track your progress

Whether you’ve got huge long-term resolutions or small short-term goals, writing them down and checking in on them regularly will keep you on track with your resolutions. Keep a log (daily, weekly or monthly) of tangible elements of your goals, so you can see your progress — numbers are your friend here, so make sure you’re recording hours spent at the gym, meals prepped each week, or books read each month. Seeing this will remind you that actually, you’re doing just fine.

Treat yo’self

Forget about “no pain, no gain.” If you really want to stay on track with your new year’s resolutions, plan little treats for extra motivation. Tell yourself that you’ll get dessert on Fridays if you’ve done four workouts that week, buy yourself a new pair of shoes if you’ve hit your saving goals for the month, or get a foot massage if you manage to get through a book a week for a month. Whatever it is, having a sweet perk to look forward to will help you on your way.