6 Secrets of Chicagoland Residents that Keep Their New Year's Resolutions

Making a New Year's resolution is easy; keeping it is the hard part! Did you know that only 8% of people follow through with their New Year's resolutions?

To help you become a part of the elite 8% that stick to their resolutions, here are several tips for planning and achieving your New Year's resolutions in 2018:

1. Be Specific

Some of the most common resolutions include "getting in shape" and "saving money." While these are great goals to have, you'll be much more likely to reach them if you're specific about what you want to accomplish.

For example, if you want to get into shape, specify how many days a week you will go to the gym, or what you want your idea BMI to be. Residents of our Springs at Orchard Road and Springs at Weber Road apartments benefit from having access to a state-of-the-art fitness center on the property, which will make it easier to squeeze in a workout.

2. Measure Your Progress

When setting goals, consider how you'll measure your progress. Having a way to benchmark your goals will help to keep you motivated when the going gets tough.

If your goal is to save 10% of your salary in 2018, there are a number of free apps such as Mint and Dollarbird that will help you track your savings progress and keep you accountable to your goal.

3. Realize It Takes Time

It's easy to become frustrated when you've committed to your resolution for a month but have made little progress. Be patient and realize that long-term change takes, well, a long time.

4. Share with Friends and Family

Writing down your New Year's resolutions is one part of the equation, and vocalizing them to friends and family is another. By sharing your goals, you'll be much less likely to give up on reaching them because you won't want to admit failure to others. Also, when your support network is aware of the goals that you want to reach, they can hold you accountable and help you reach them.

5. Make Time

One of the most common reasons why people fall short of reaching their resolutions is because they don't have the time to dedicate to achieving their goals. Be intentional with your time by specifically blocking it in your schedule to work on your goals.

6. Realize Something is Better Than Nothing

There will be days when it's not realistic to block out a full 30 minutes (or whatever time frame you need) to work on reaching your goal. Instead of skipping it altogether, use the amount of time that you do have — even if it's 10 minutes — to work on your goal. Something is better than nothing.

For some, moving to a new apartment in Chicagoland will be a 2018 resolution. Please know that our brand new Springs at Canterfield and Springs at South Elgin apartments will be available in the spring of 2018.