Here’s One of Our Secrets to Keeping a New Year’s Resolution
Setting resolutions can feel exciting, but the urge to abandon them before February can be even more significant. Our secret weapon to achieving long-term success in 2019? The art and science of putting pen to paper. We’ve teamed up with our friends at Pilot Pen to prove what we’ve learned after years of failed goals: The key to holding yourself accountable and establishing lasting habits is writing it all down by hand.
Step 1: Grab the necessities. You’re going to need writing tools that will allow you to be equal parts productive *and* creative. Pilot’s Ensō Collection is our go-to source for everything from calligraphy to extra-fine-point brush pens. Remember: with the right tools, even a basic to-do list can become art!
For maximum convenience and organization, use a notebook for all of your resolution setting (and keeping). We’re partial to anything colorful that we can slip into our bag on the go.
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Step 2: Download, print, and cut. Luckily for you, we have you covered with everything you need to map out a winning year with our printable goal planner, floral border inspiration page, and habit tracker! We made these guys small enough to cut out and pop into almost any notebook with some washi tape.
Step 3: Set overall goals and establish habits that will help you meet them. Though well intentioned, lofty New Year’s resolutions often leave us feeling like we’ve bitten off more than we can chew. This year, use your goal planner to break your big-picture goal into three smaller and more approachable habits. These will allow you to measure your progress (more on that later!) and achieve success in practical ways.
When you feel yourself losing steam, you can always flip back to this page for a reminder of why this goal was important in the first place!
Don’t be afraid to have a little fun when you dream up the master plan for 2019! If you’re a brush pen fan, Pilot’s extra- fine and bold Brush Pens will do the trick. They feel and look just like a real brush but offer way more precision and control for the smaller details.
Step 4: Surround yourself with handwritten encouragement. Staying motivated is key. Print out our floral border inspiration pageto customizeyour notebook or walls for the next 12 months.
Pop the smaller version in your notebook, and hang the larger size above your desk to stay inspired year-round!
Step 5: Keep track, note setbacks, and reflect monthly on your progress. Using your habit tracker, take notice of any patterns, and adjust accordingly. Is it harder to get that full night’s sleep on Friday night? Build in some extra time to sleep in the next morning. Most importantly: give yourself a little grace and credit for your hard work. Eventually, you’ll love doing this so that you can see what days you fell short of your goals and note where you faced major setbacks. Celebrate your victories and record them with a Plumix Pen!
For more detailed pages like this, we love using the Plumix Fountain Pen for a bit of calligraphy flair. The set comes with three ink colors and nib sizes so you can always mix it up!
Step 6: Stay strong. Now that you’ve made it this far, the hardest part is over! Stay strong and committed to your goals. After all, you set them for a reason. You deserve to feel accomplished and rock this year!
Ready? Time to take on 2019!
How do you stay on track to hit your goals? Share with us on Twitter by tagging @BritandCo and @PilotPenUSA.
This post was paid for by Pilot Pen.
Production & Styling: Kayla Haykin & Caris Fawcett
Design: Marisa Kumtong
Photography: Brittany Griffin
