1. Redefine “things” as “actions”.

We have a habit of saying the word “things” in sentences such as “I’m gonna do a few things this year”. Not that it’s bad, but it’ll benefit you more once you’ve redefined the word “things” into “actions” and say that sentence in a new manner like “I’m taking these 5 action steps to losing weight” as an example. The former sounds too general and totally boring. No, you don’t need to live another year of boring. Make a change of word — it’s really a shift of mindset — and you’ll actually start taking action once you see this step done.

2. Simplify.

There’s too many “things” to do in a year. Everyone gets 365 days in the calendar, so no one’s missing out on anything. You want to get things done, but have no idea where to start. Simplify. Take action only on the elements that will get you closer towards your goals. Delay or eliminate the rest. You are allowed to improve your productivity by doing less—no one said you shouldn’t.

3. Setting a theme for the year.

The easiest way to get focused from the beginning of a new year is to set a theme for yourself. Answer the following questions: What would you want to be known for this year? What are topics are you passionate in that will add value to the people around you and yourself? Align your words and actions to the theme that you have set for this year, and start talking, writing, sharing, and working on it to see them bearing fruit.

4. Learn to let go.

You grow only when you’ve learned how to let go. I’ll use one illustration as an example here. Seen butterflies before? It’s a wonder how they started off as caterpillars, being tied down to the ground, then shedding their casing before becoming the beautiful butterfly with gorgeous wings and all. They have to let go of certain stuff, like their old pair of legs (that helps them climb up plants and walk on leaves) before they can fully embrace their final stage of metamorphosis as the butterfly where they can fly freely in the skies at will. I don’t hear them carrying their shed off chrysalis when they fly about. They know that it’s time to let that go.

5. Have adequate sleep.

I may have written about how 6 hours of sleep is sufficient for your productivity, but I need to add a caveat; by no means 6 hours equals a healthy sleeping cycle. There’s a news that I’ve stumbled upon recently about how a director who did regular exercise, ate proper, had a good work-life-balance, but died in his early 50’s. What killed him was his sleeping schedule—he slept 4 to 5 hours daily. Doctors recommend 7 hours. 6 is still the minimal to get you going productive daily. To stay on the safe side, let’s aim for 7 to 8 hours daily in 2010 onwards.

6. 10,000 hours.

There’s a concept that says that it takes 10,000 hours for a person to go from beginner to expert. It’s not only the number of hours that matter, but it is taking deliberate action that propels one closer to mastery.

7. Enjoy the moment.

Life is not all about work, work, and more work with no play. Take time off and start enjoying the moment. You can be in the process of starting a new business; think of certain factors where you have to put in effor not as a form of discipline, but one of enjoyment (you are only gonna be fulfilled when there’s an element of enjoying the work and getting them done). While you’re outside drinking a cup of coffee, take time to smell the aroma and enjoy the tastes with every single sip.

8. Build new habits.

Or eliminate old ways. Be it a video game addiction or a gambling addiction, one of the ways to break off a habit is to embed new ones as a replacement. On the other hand, you are looking to build new habits (or skill sets) that will help you in getting a goal done. Start new habits from tiny steps. Begin with the small to see the huge at the end.

9. Motivate yourself.

You would have known now that motivation is something that all of us would need every now and then, and that it drains out in mysterious ways. One can’t force motivation on himself—that creates more stress. What you could do is to be equipped with the knowledge on how you can tap into motivation to getting things done, to learning motivation hacks, how to form the action habit … and so on. We all need motivation, and there’s a compilation of all that (and more) in The Essential Motivation Handbook by Leo Babauta and Eric Hamm, from Zen Habits and Motivate Thyself.

10. Visualize and finish.

I’d like to end by asking if you had set your sights at the end while you are working to getting your resolutions done. Take time each day to visualize on the result, and you will start seeing new ideas and practical steps to helping you accomplish certain tasks that you might be stuck at along your way. Every time you visualize, see yourself working on a next action, one step at a time, and go on to finish it.