What Makes a Good DIY Resolution?

New Years resolution list

The new year brings about the chance for a clean slate, so it's a perfect time for individuals to set goals for themselves commonly referred to as New Year’s resolutions. These typically revolve around things like fitness, diet, and finances. However, this refreshing time also presents the perfect time to set goals for DIY and home improvement projects. These goals can span a wide range of projects, varying in size, genre, and area of the home. Below, learn what makes a good DIY resolution so that you’re setting yourself up for success in DIY!

Consider What You’ve Already Accomplished

Woman measuring wood on an outdoor DIY project

Part of setting attainable and realistic DIY goals for the year ahead relies on your ability to look back at what you’ve already accomplished. For instance, consider what DIY projects and goals you achieved the previous year. Did you set any goals that were not met? If so, reflect on why that may have been. Also consider what you did to achieve the goals that were, in fact, met and consider the way you crafted those resolutions just one year ago. This will aid in making your new resolutions reachable.

You’ll also want to reflect on these past goals as you may want to build off of them in creating those for the new year. Finally, thinking about these accomplishments makes for wonderful motivation to keep the momentum up!

Don’t Make Your Resolutions Too General or Too Specific

While you do want to zero in on goals that are meaningful to you in the DIY space, you should also want to strike the right balance between resolutions that are too general and those that are too specific. For instance, a resolution to "complete many DIY projects in 2019" may be too vague to stay motivated and on track. On the other hand, a resolution that states, "complete 12 DIY projects in 2019" may be too specific and almost limiting.

Instead, craft something more along the lines of, "complete at least one DIY project each season", or "complete at least one DIY resolution on each floor of the house". These are specific enough while not being limiting.

Focus on Talents and Areas for Improvement

Man drilling wood paneling with dog watching

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses alike, and that same rule applies to DIY skills. Resolutions are a time to pick what you want to focus on for the year, which can oftentimes mean sharpening already present skills or learning completely new ones. Be sure to specify in your resolutions whether your goal revolves around building on a skill that you already have in order to refine it or advance that skill, or if it’s one that you’re learning from scratch. This allows you to better set expectations surrounding the resolution.

If you’re building on a pre-existing skill, you can expect to achieve a more advanced position by the end of the year. If it’s something completely new, be realistic in how much you can learn and achieve when starting from scratch.

Have a Plan

Everyone knows the saying, "a goal without a plan is just a dream". This mantra applies perfectly to New Year’s resolutions. When setting DIY resolutions, you want to ensure that you have some sort of planeven if it’s just a general frameworkguiding you towards how you will realistically achieve it. For example, if you’re resigning to "improve your outdoor space through DIY projects" in 2019, map out a few feasible projects that you can choose from to make that goal happen. Also set smaller goals for yourself along the way, highlighting what times of year would be ideal to complete these projects and what materials are needed to complete them. Understand the financial commitment different resolutions require to ensure that they fit into your annual budget.

If you follow these guidelines, it’s almost guaranteed that your DIY resolutions will be not only feasible, but they’ll be fun to accomplish! Set yourself up for success this year as you embark on your refreshed home improvement journey and set resolutions the right way.