By Aimee Staudt | Vice president and director of development, Knapp Properties

2017 is coming to a close, 2018 is upon us and it’s time to start thinking about those New Year’s resolutions. You know, those same resolutions you make every year that you aren’t so great at sticking with? Can you even remember what your resolutions were for 2017? When was the last time you revisited them? Did you accomplish any of them?

THIS YEAR CAN BE DIFFERENT. You just need a plan. Think about it. It’s very difficult to accomplish a task without some plan for execution. Goal setting, which is what New Year’s resolutions really are, is no different.

Why even bother with resolutions? Because everyone should have a goal. If you’re not growing,  whether it’s personally, professionally, spiritually, or physically, then you’re not living. There’s so much research out there about how essential goal-setting is to achievement. Here’s an exercise you can go through that takes about an hour of your time and could change your life forever.

DREAM A LITTLE. Set a timer for five minutes and think about your dream life, your ideal life. If your life could look like anything you wanted, what would it look like? Write down everything that you think of — it doesn’t have to be realistic. Really envision what you want. Be specific. Don’t just say you want a Corvette. Picture yourself driving one. What color is it?

CREATE YOUR ROAD MAP. Time to brainstorm! Using the aspirations from your ideal life, work backward to determine how to accomplish these goals. Reset your timer for five minutes and think of as many ideas as you can for steps you can take that will move you toward your goal. Ask questions. If I had to do three things to make this goal happen today, what would they be? What is keeping me from moving this forward? What knowledge do I need to achieve this goal? Where can I find that knowledge? Who do I know that can help me? The wealth of free knowledge available to us in this digital age is truly amazing. Resources like podcasts, articles, books and free online courses are all at our fingertips. This step helps you break each goal down into smaller chunks to make it manageable. This is your road map, your plan for execution.

SET DEADLINES. Take the tasks you’ve developed to achieve your goal and add a timeline to them. Start with big-picture ideas and break these items down to quarterly, weekly and daily action items. You should always schedule at least one item into each day that moves you closer to your goal.

REPEAT AND REASSESS. You can repeat this process for as many goals as you choose. But it’s absolutely critical that you revisit this process and your goals on a regular basis. Re-imagine your dream life to remind yourself why you’re doing this. Assess your progress. What have you accomplished? Are there new tasks and ideas that come to mind with the knowledge you’ve gained through the work you’ve already accomplished? Are there things you should be doing more of? Things you should be doing less of?

It’s so easy to get settled into day-to-day life and the status quo and to just let life happen to you. Don’t waste any more time. Make 2018 the year you refocus and take deliberate action to accomplish your dreams so that when 2019 approaches, you know exactly what your resolutions were and what you accomplished.

Aimee Staudt is a vice president and the director of development at Knapp Properties Inc., where she oversees all real estate development and construction activities. She was named in 2013 to the Des Moines Business Record Forty Under 40 and is actively involved in the real estate industry and community. She is also the mother to three very busy children, ages 6-10. Aimee can be reached via email.