How to Stick to your New Year's Resolution to Spend More Time with Your Family and Friends

According to one survey, the single most common New Year's Resolution is to spend more time with family and friends. If you have a plan, this can be done. Here are some tips.

	First, you need to be able to quantify your goal. Do you know much time you spend with family and friends now? How will you measure if you are spending more time with them? A measurable goal would be, for example, to go to the park once a week with your son.
	Make your goal attainable. For example, if you currently work 60 hours per week, you'll have trouble spending 6 hours a day with your kids and taking your spouse out on a date every weekend. If your goal is unattainable, then you run the risk of quitting it altogether if fall behind.
	Write your goal down.
	If you didn't write your goal down yet, return to step 3. Seriously, write down your goal. Goals that are written down get done and those that aren't don't get done. "If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time." — Zig Ziglar
	Tell people about your goal, particularly those affected by it. Make them hold you to it.
	Consider printing out a calendar in a start-chart type format. For example, you can give yourself a green start each time your help your kids with their homework, or give yourself a red start each time you help your best friend fix his car. Shoot for a certain number of stars each week or month. If this is too corny, consider another method of recording your progress.
	Stick to it! You can really do it!