Revised Resolutions

Patti Gilchrist, PMP, is a Senior Technical Manager with more than 20 years of IT experience. Visit her website at www.freepmstudy.com

  Career Development  

It’s that time of year again, when we ritualistically set goals for ourselves for the new year. And studies show that if we are lucky, we actually manage to keep them for about two weeks. While 40 to 45 percent of Americans make a resolution each year, success rates are rather grim, with only 75 percent who maintain the resolution past the first week, 71 percent past two weeks, 64 percent after one month and down to 46 percent after six months.

Ultimately, 24 percent fail on their resolution each year, and only 8 percent are successful in achieving their resolution. The statistics are bleak and disheartening, so you may ask yourself, why bother? As you decide whether to set a resolution for 2013, it’s worth considering that making resolutions does have its value. While many people do break their resolutions each year, research shows that making them has its advantages. People who make explicit resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don't make resolutions…and that sounds more promising.

While reviewing the list of typical resolutions that people make each year, you may want to relate these to project management in order to help you decide on your 2013 goals. For example:

• Lose Weight – So let’s face it, most of us could benefit from shedding a few of those extra pounds. Our projects are …

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