Iowa Health Department Tip: Fewer Resolutions Equal More Success

If you want to be successful at your New Year's resolutions, the Iowa Department of Public Health says it's best to make fewer of them, particularly when it comes to health and lifestyle changes. Instead, sharpen your focus on what matters most. The department gathered tips from the medical and educational facilities to help Iowans come up with strategies to turn those health-related resolutions into long-term lifestyle habits.

From the England National Health Service, here are 10 goal-setting tips for successful resolutions:

1. Make only one resolution. Your chances of success are greater when you channel energy into changing just one aspect of your behavior.
2. Don't wait until New Year's Eve to choose your resolution. Take some time over a few days and think about what you want to achieve.
3. Avoid prior resolutions. Deciding to revisit a past resolution sets you up for frustration and disappointment.
4. Don't "follow the crowd" and go with the usual resolutions. Instead, think about what you really want out of life.
5. Break your goal into a series of steps, focusing on the creation of sub-goals that are concrete, measurable and time-based.
6. Tell your friends and family about your goals. You're more likely to get support and want to avoid failure.
7. To stay motivated, make a checklist of how achieving your resolution will help you.
8. Give yourself a small reward whenever you achieve a sub-goal, which will help to motivate you and give you a sense of progress.
9. Make your plans and progress concrete by keeping a handwritten journal, completing a computer spreadsheet, covering a notice board with graphs or pictures, or using electronic programs to track your achievements.
10. Expect to revert to your old habits from time to time. Treat any failure as a temporary setback rather than a reason to give up altogether.

Everyone is faced with setbacks and obstacles at one point or another. Instead of focusing on what didn't go right, think about your recent achievements, the Mayo Clinic recommends. Chances are you're doing more than you give yourself credit for, so don't beat yourself up over disappointments. Move on and remember that you can only change what you have control over right now.

Here are Mayo Clinic's tips on reaching and maintaining your health-related resolutions:

• Track daily activities and everything you eat. It may seem like an overwhelming and tedious task, but it can help you identify patterns of unhealthy behavior, such as late-night snacking or eating while driving.
• Move more. If you don't have time for a workout one day, add extra movement into your daily routine. Take time to review the options and pick one that suits your personality and lifestyle.
• Be willing to experiment. You might not know what approach will work best for you until you do a little experimenting. If one method doesn't work, try a different one. Eventually you'll find a habit or routine that fits your lifestyle and can help you achieve long-term success.
• Make one change at a time. It's common to want to make grandiose plans and dive in headfirst. But instead of trying to move mountains, start small and picture yourself moving a few rocks at a time. Each success will build your confidence and motivate you to continue.

Finally, here are some SMART goals the Iowa Department of Public Health's Center for Acute Disease Epidemiology found via the Student Success Center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. They are applicable to setting health goals as well as success in school and in careers:

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