An Organizer's View On New Year's Resolutions

It's the third day of the new year; how are those resolutions holding up? This year I decided to boycott the annual ritual of making New Year's resolutions. As a psychology student in college, I assisted one professor in her research investigating the effects that cognitive restriction had on dieting behavior. Just the mere act of creating restrictions tends to make one want to do the opposite. The results of the research showed that those individuals who lost the most weight were those who committed to healthy lifestyle habits. Those that put a number of restrictions on what they could/couldn't eat where prone to temptation and ended up "blowing" their well laid out plans.

That being said, instead of making resolutions, aim for small changes that have potential to become routines. For example, if your goal is to exercise more, start with fifteen minutes a day and work up from there. Setting goals that are unrealistic set us up to fail.

The same theory applies to getting organized. Telling yourself that you are going to organize your whole house the first week of the New Year is highly unrealistic (unless you are Martha Stewart and you have a staff!). Aim for organizing a small drawer a day then work up from there. It will take time, but believe me, you will start to see changes!

Unleash Your Organized Me!