How to follow through

What do you want to accomplish this year?

Maybe it’s publishing more books. Or sharing your work with the world for the first time. Making more money. Winning an award. Reaching a new milestone in your author career. Becoming a full-time novelist.

I hope it’s at least one of those things. No matter how you answered, though, it will take follow-through.

Eighty percent of people abandon their New Year’s resolutions by February. That isn’t because their dreams changed. It’s not because they don’t know the steps, either. (In the digital age, all info is just one Google search away.)

It’s because they don’t do what they planned to do.

Listen, that’s normal. But if you want to do big things this year, here are three simple ways to follow through.

1. Calendar your action items. “Sometime” and “some day” are fancy ways of saying “rarely” and “never.” But studies show that scheduling increases productivity and of course, follow-through.

2. Get comfortable with discomfort. Procrastination is rarely about avoiding an activity. Instead, it’s about avoiding how you expect to feel when you do that activity. Try telling yourself, “This may be uncomfortable, but I’m willing to feel that to reach my goal.” (Bonus: negative emotions pass faster when you’re not avoiding them.)

3. Tell someone. You know how we often keep our wishes to ourselves for fear of “jinxing” things? Research shows the opposite is true. Sharing your goal with a person whose opinion you value actually ups the odds you'll reach it.

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