5 Resolutions You Can Keep By Using a Calendar

Modern New Year’s resolutions have their roots in human traditions that go back thousands of years. Ancient Babylonians celebrated a new year by making promises to pay back debts and return things they had borrowed, while ancient Romans made annual promises of self-improvement to appease their gods. While these early rituals are now long gone, the practice of evaluating our lives over the last year and choosing goals of self-improvement for the next have become commonplace in today’s world.

The key to sticking to your resolutions is setting goals and then working towards those goals. It can be very helpful to break your goals down into small tasks, with each new task building on the last. Having a plan for undertaking your tasks improves your chances of meeting your goals. Celebrating each successful step toward your goals makes keeping your resolutions more rewarding, which in turn will motivate you to keep working towards those goals.

Making a plan to stick to your resolutions isn’t difficult, especially if you have a method for documenting, tracking, and checking off your goals and tasks. One of the best ways to do all this is with a calendar. Although you can use any kind of calendar you like, traditional or digital, a good traditional wall calendar will keep your goals and tasks within your sight every time you walk past it. You can instantly visualize where you are with your plan, and cross off each day’s box as you work toward your goals. Below are five popular New Year’s resolutions that will be easier to keep if you use a calendar.

Manage Your Time Better

Like many others, perhaps you have decided that this is the year you stop procrastinating and start getting more things done. Procrastinating only increases your stress surrounding tasks that you would prefer not to do. A calendar can help you with better time management by making it easier to visualize your days, weeks, and months. Set goals for accomplishing non-preferred tasks in a timely way by adding these deadlines to your calendar, then celebrate when you can cross them off. Sounds obvious, right? And yet millions of us continue to put things off until the last minute, stressing out all along the way. A traditional wall calendar helps you achieve your time management goals by being an instant physical reminder of your tasks and goals. Your best tool for keeping this resolution can hang in your kitchen or office, where you can always see it supporting you and your goals.

Get In Shape

Getting in shape with a physical fitness routine is probably the most popular New Year’s resolution of all. We all want to look and feel our best, and regular exercise is an excellent way to meet that goal. Exercise is also essential to good health, and many people who are starting to get or feel older see fitness as a way to stave off the effects of aging. Whatever your reason for wanting to get in better shape, a wall calendar can help you meet this goal as well. Schedule workouts and check them off as you finish them for an effective feeling of accomplishment. Record weight loss progress each week for a quick visualization of the success of your plan over time. Keeping these records on a wall calendar acts as a reminder of both your fitness goals and your successes that you can instantly see as you pass by, helping you stay motivated and on track.

Improve Your Diet

Another popular New Year’s resolution is to eat healthier foods. The holidays of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas all center around food, especially treats, which leads to post-holiday goals of a better diet. One of the best ways to improve your eating habits is to make a meal plan each week. Create a list of meals you can prepare daily that include a variety of healthy recipes, and the write those meals on your wall calendar. You’ll be able to see at a glance what you will need to prepare, and what you will need to prep ahead of time. Meal planning makes grocery shopping easier, too, by clearly showing what ingredients you need to buy. And that wall calendar keeps reminding you of your healthy eating goals each and every time you walk past it.

Improve Your Finances

After a season of big holiday spending, many people are ready to embark on a plan to improve their finances. Using a wall calendar can be very helpful for keeping this resolution as well, by giving you a tool to record payment dates, payment amounts, savings goals, and debt payment plans. Having a wall calendar hanging in your home can help you curb your spending by having your goals instantly visible on each month of the calendar. And crossing off payment and savings goals you have met is very gratifying, which will reinforce your dedication to your goals. Using ink of different colors can help you keep track of your various accounts and payments, providing a quick reference to your goals on sight. There are many different methods available online for improving your finances, do your research to find the method that works best for you and use your calendar to keep track of your success.

Travel More

Broadening your horizons can also broaden your mind. That is why so many people have a New Year’s resolution to travel and see more of the world, or maybe even just more of their own regional area. Goals related to increasing travel depend on where you want to go, what budgetary limitations you may have, and how much time off from work you can afford. Once you’ve decided where and when you are going to travel, a wall calendar can come in handy to help you meet those globe-trotting goals. Keeping your travel schedule on a calendar you hang in your home builds excitement around those plans every month. Use your calendar to schedule not only your trips, but when you need to book things like hotels and airfare. Did you know there is an optimum time to book a flight? According to Travel & Leisure, you should start shopping for flights around 64 days prior to your trip for the best deals, and the best time of day to book is 5:00 am. So mark that calendar about 2 months before you travel, wake up extra early, and get that good deal on your flight. Using a travel themed calendar is a bonus way to build anticipation and inspiration for your wanderings.

Whatever your resolutions are for the New Year, make sure you make a plan and track your progress as you go. Any goal can be met with the right method and tools. Calendars are a great way to stick to your plans and keep your resolutions. With a wall calendar hanging in your home, you can be instantly reminded of your goals and the tasks you set to achieve them. And don’t forget to celebrate when you finish those tasks! Those celebrations are often the best part of keeping a New Year’s resolution.

Asgard Press has a selection of 34 calendars for 2024. Each large-format, vintage-themed wall calendar is also a collection of 13 art-quality prints that can be easily removed from the calendar and fit in standard sized 11”x14” picture frames. Decorate your home with images of the things you love long after the New Year is over and your resolutions have been kept.