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As we have stepped into a new year, many of us are eager to make it the most productive and fulfilling one yet. In this article, we'll explore 10 powerful habits that can help you stay on track, foster positivity, and make the most of every opportunity this year brings.

Tags: #Productivity #PositiveHabits #NewYearGoals #SelfImprovement #HealthyHabits #GoalSetting #PersonalGrowth #SuccessMindset #Motivation #TimeManagement #WellBeing #PositiveMindset #WorkLifeBalance

We made it to 2025!  January is already gone, and here we are facing only 11 months of this new year left. For us at NOL, January whizzed by in the blink of an eye.  Here we are now in February. If you are still getting your bearings, it's not too late.  In fact, we would love to be a part of helping you do just that with this article and more to come.  

Before we jump into the nitty gritty of this article, we would love for you to know our theme for this year.  NOL’s theme for 2024 was “The Year of You”.  This year, our theme is “Gye Nyame”[1], which in English translated from the Akan language of Ghana means “Except God".  Essentially, we want to encourage you today and throughout the year that God is the only One who can make things happen for our ultimate good.  

However, as we trust God to do His part, we are responsible for doing ours for effective results.  That brings us back to the topic of this article: ten habits you need for a successful 2025.  It's important to note that trying to develop new habits may not be effective in and of itself.  For habits to "stick" and be sustainable, we need systems.  These systems do not have to be elaborate.  Something as simple as adding one step before performing your habit could ensure you keep your habit going long-term. For example, only having fruit to snack on at home, and not purchasing junk food, is a simple step that can help you make better dietary decisions. Or like Clear said in Atomic Habits, placing your medication near your bathroom tap to take it at the appropriate time could help ensure you don't miss a dosage. [2]

This being stated, we'll look at the following ten habits: self-awareness, prioritization, focus, crafting SMART goals, Structuring Processes, Using tools, Measuring progress, rewards, Course correction, and Repetition. 

1. Self-Awareness

Being self-aware is a great habit to form.  Developing or changing habits requires emotional intelligence.  Experts say that self-awareness is the most important component of emotional intelligence. “Self-awareness” is basically knowing what you are feeling, and why.  [3]

If your goals for this new year require you to develop new habits, exercising self-awareness is crucial.  For example, do you want to lose weight? Consider your current weight, your goal weight, and why you want to lose weight in the first place. What is your reasoning? Do you feel uncomfortable, or unhealthy or do you simply prefer yourself at a different weight?  Perhaps you would like to start a side hustle and up your monthly income.  Consider your target income, your current income, and your feelings around both.  

If you've ever taken an online quiz about yourself, you'll probably agree that the most important aspect of getting accurate and actionable results depends on your honesty. Likewise, for self-awareness to help you reap its benefits, you need to be completely honest with yourself.

2. Prioritization

Another habit worth cultivating to ensure your success this year is learning to prioritize your efforts.  We bet you have so much to do that it's sometimes hard to figure out what to do first.  Brian Tracy offers a useful approach to effective prioritization. He suggests taking a blank sheet of paper and writing down 10 goals in the present tense.  Then ask yourself "... If you had a magic wand, what's the one goal on this list that would have the greatest positive impact on my life?". [4] Once you identify that, he suggests taking the following seven steps: write it down on a blank sheet of paper, set a deadline, make a list of everything you need to do to accomplish it, organize the list into a checklist, take action, and then do something every day.  

You could even take this a step further, and use this process on a monthly, weekly, and even daily basis, depending on your aspirations and the breakdown of results you hope to achieve.

3. Focus

With prioritization helping us determine what matters most, developing the habit of focus (concentration on that which matters most) is just as important. You may have heard of Pareto’s Principle or the 80 / 20 Rule which tells us that “80% of consequences come from 20% of the causes”. [5]  Meaning, if we prioritize our efforts, and focus on the most important, we set ourselves up for above-average results.

That being said, it can be challenging to maintain focus indefinitely. Most of us need a timeframe to focus on.  That's why it's crucial to decide on a deadline (and sub-deadlines) to give you that sense of urgency that can help you get it done. [6]

4. Craft SMART Goals

Not all goals are equal.  Having the ability to craft SMART goals is key.  You see, a "SMART" goal is a goal that is "Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely”. [7]  "I want to have a more fulfilling life in 2025" is not a SMART goal. However, modifying this goal to:

"Every week, I will do at least three activities that positively add to my well-being, and personal growth, such as reading personal development books, physical exercise and moments of mindfulness."

Saying that you want to lose weight this year isn't enough.  A SMART goal would be "I will lose 12 kilograms by December 31, 2025, by reducing my carb intake to half of my regular portion, not eating after 6 pm, eliminating snacks from my home, and walking 10,000 steps daily, while tracking my progress weekly." 

5. Develop Processes & Systems 

So, though mastering how to craft SMART goals is part of the solution, we need to start doing these new habits consistently until they are automatic.  Processes and systems can help us do that.  Sounds complicated? Stay with us - it’s easier than it sounds.  One such helpful process is habit stacking.  This is: “...  a technique where you attach a new habit to one you already engage in consistently…” [8]  Placing your sneakers and workout gear beside your bed before you go to sleep is one example if your intention is to go exercise first thing in the morning. 

Another form of habit stacking worth mentioning is “Implementation Intention”. Also, learn how to move these goals from a concept to actions that we actually take for any given plausible scenario [9].   That is "If ABC happens, then I will do XYZ".  If we are honest, it's sometimes those scenarios we didn't plan for or anticipate that throw us off our winning streaks.  

For example - Let's look at that weight loss goal.  You've been doing great all through January and even managed to lose a bit of weight towards your ideal weight.  As it happens, your friend has a birthday coming up and you know you cannot ignore all the good food you'll find there.  One option is to opt out of attending (Which probably takes out the joy of living, just a bit).  Another more prosocial option is to go and have fun with your friends but make the intention to only eat lean protein, roasted nuts, cheese or fruits, and abstain from consuming carbs - particularly bread or cake.

If, for example, your goal is to find a job that pays you 30% more within the next 6 months, a reasonable implementation intention could be to consider how many job vacancies you intend to apply for each day and what you will do on days when you don’t meet your quota. You could state that you will apply for at least 2 jobs a day that meet my salary expectations.  On days that you don’t meet that quota, you will let it roll over to the next day’s quota.     

6. Use Aids/Tools Where Possible

We are so fortunate to live in such a time as this where resources that can help us achieve our goals are endless.  Whether you prefer an old-school approach or love technology to give you the leverage that you need, whatever the case, you have everything you need to nurture your habits until they become second nature.

Productivity, Habit-tracking, calendar and reminder apps are among some of the technological apps you can explore for yourself. If you happen to have unique circumstances that make developing habits harder for you such as neurodivergence, there are even apps that could help you develop habits even with your specific context. 

More manual methods like having an accountability partner or support group, developing a reward system, journaling, using a planner, and creating a vision board. We like to use vision boards here at NOL. Vision boards are such a helpful aid in staying focused on goals that our habits are meant to help us attain because - if done right - vision boards can tap into our subconscious mind and help habits become automatic. Since our subconscious mind can process patterns [10], emotions, and imagery [11], it’s more effective for us to have visual exciting targets, instead of just a textual representation of what we want to achieve. Here is a recording of our recent vision board workshop you might find very helpful.