Congratulations on surviving 2020! However, a New Year means New Year’s resolutions! These fun things are commitments and promises we make to ourselves in an attempt to mold ourselves into our ideal person – workout more, drink less, quick smoking, learn guitar, etc… however, we tend to fail within two weeks.

Why is it that so many of us fail to live up to our own expectations? The answer is simple, we take on too much. Not many people have just one resolution. We take a “shotgun” approach to our improvements, where we make several resolutions and attempt to keep all of them. The idea behind this approach is that if you attempt 20 things, maybe a few of them will stick. In the end, we get overwhelmed and most often quit all of them.

Warren Buffett has a simple method to goal setting: the 25/5 approach. This approach originated from a discussion between Mr. Buffett and his pilot. He asked his pilot what his goals and dreams were by having him write them all (or 25) down. Next, you pick out the most important 5 goals. Once you have decided on your most important goals, focus only on those goals over the next year. For the other 20 goals, do not touch them until you have achieved your most important 5 goals.

The secret to Mr. Buffett’s 25/5 approach is focus and prioritization. Rather than a shotgun approach, this is more of a precision rifle approach. You decide what is most important to you and then focus only on those most important things until they are done.

For your New Year’s resolutions, apply Mr. Buffett’s approach. Prioritize your resolutions down until you only have 1-3 goals for the next year. This way you can focus and develop a plan for these goals and be far more likely to practice them past January 15th this year.

So write down all of your goals and dreams, pick a few, and develop a plan.

Comment below with your New Year’s resolutions!