How to Set Realistic Expectations and Not Burnout Over Your New Year Goals

It’s that time of year again. Chances are, you are either working on your last final exams or pushing your end-of-year performance metrics as an early professional. Let’s admit it. We are all very burned out after working so hard for 12 months, and we can’t wait for a proper reset during the holidays.

Over the past year, we’ve all gone through a lot, whether we want to admit it or not, and we’ve learned valuable lessons along our personal and professional journeys. But is something innately wrong with us? We don’t know when to take a break, and even when we do, we feel as if we are self-sabotaging our progress. 

Sometimes, it may seem like all our efforts are in vain, and it’s another good year wasted. We feel the constant need to improve, but are always burdened by the immense pressure we place on ourselves.

The truth is, you are not alone. Did you know that only 23% of people make it past the first week of their new year's resolutions? Everyone experiences burnout towards the end of the year. Both professional athletes like Chris Bumstead, Lebron James, and college students or early professionals like yourself. 

The trick to not being burned out is actually more straightforward than you might expect. Here’s what you can do right now to make sure you achieve your goals in the new year and, most importantly, not burn yourself out by February! 

First, set small, daily incremental action items you know you can achieve with minimal effort. Rome was not built in a day, and you cannot expect not to burn out when you are dead set on doing something that takes an entire year by January. 

If you want to read more books, instead of forcing yourself to finish one book a week, make the time to read for 10 minutes a day. If you want to learn a new skill, designate 20 minutes a day to practice instead of forcing yourself to practice two hours a day if you know you don’t have the time for it. You have to be brutally honest with yourself, know your limits, and slowly push yourself beyond your comfort zone. 

When I started exercising in June, I set the goal of doing 10,000 skips with a jump rope. It’s December, and even after losing 75 pounds in six months, I’ve still not completed 10,000 skips in a single day. Why? Because 10k skips a day is crazy! Theoretically, it would take 30 minutes to do it, but I’m not a kangaroo nor a rabbit! 

If you know it sounds absurd, you should not set yourself up for failure by doing what you want to achieve by the end of the year on day one. What I do now is to skip for 5 minutes before my workouts to warm up, and trust me, it is a much more enjoyable experience. Know your limits and set small incremental daily action items you know you can achieve. By the end of the year, you will get there! 

The second tip is to stay consistent and know you will be forced to make sacrifices. Learn to hold yourself accountable and stay disciplined. If you want to lose weight, you need to make sacrifices, go to the gym, eat less, and pass on the alcohol. You won’t get anywhere if you just keep doing the same things and performing the same daily routines as before. If you are second-guessing yourself and are not sure you can make it, just act and do the task you set for today, and I promise you will feel much better. 

I know for a fact that if you set small incremental goals and follow through, you will achieve what you set out to do. It is a Marathon and not a sprint. Go enjoy the holidays and stay committed. Good luck!