Many of us make annual New Year’s Tech resolutions, both personal and professional. But while these well-intentioned commitments are easy to make, they’re notoriously harder to keep. Or at least they used to be. Today, a variety of tech tools makes it much easier to track progress and remain accountable for our New Year’s resolutions—in many cases, everything you need can be accessed via the tech on your wrist or in your pocket.
Even if your goals are related to large-scale, ambitious plans for your business, technology can play a role in making the journey much easier (and more cost-effective). Below, the members of Forbes Technology Council share practical ways tech can help anyone accomplish their New Year’s resolutions.
1. Remember, ‘There’s An App For That’
Apps are ubiquitous, and the right ones can help you track the progress you’re making on your resolutions and keep you accountable through everything from gamification to milestone-setting. From money-managing apps to fitness trackers to cultivating inner peace, there’s an app for everything. There’s something incredibly satisfying about seeing those badges or rewards pile up, which is what keeps people going. – Gaurav Aggarwal, Avanade Inc.
2. Motivate The Team Through Gamification
I am a big fan of using gamification to track goals and motivate teams. This can be applied to all areas of a business, and it helps your team members be more productive while having fun! – Steve Taplin, Sonatafy Technology
3. Share Your Plans On Social Media
We’re much more serious about plans that we’ve made publicly. It makes it a lot harder to back out because it’s like making a public promise. Tell your followers about your New Year’s resolutions on social media. You’ll see that it will seriously motivate you to do what you want to do. – Vasily Voropaev, Smartbrain.io
4. Set Up Automated Reminders
At Polly, we’re all about check-ins, which can be useful not only for feedback but also for accountability. Automated, consistent reminders are a great way to stay on top of commitments, no matter what they are. Take advantage of the simple tech you have at your fingertips and set up recurring notifications on your reminder, alarm or to-do app—you might find yourself holding better to that resolution. – Bilal Aijazi, Polly
5. Turn To Your Project Management Tools
A New Year’s resolution, whether made in January or April, is simply a project. Make use of project management tools and a calendar with reminders. Whether you’re trying to lose a few pounds or learn a foreign language, the rules are the same. Put the steps to achieving the goal into a calendar, and make notes in an app such as OneNote. There’s an app that can help in achieving every kind of objective—the rest is motivation. – Robert Strzelecki, TenderHut
6. Make Technology Your ‘Personal Assistant’
The hardest part about keeping a resolution is consistency. Tech never gets tired. It never gets bored. It never misses a chance to tell us what we’ve forgotten. Use tech to keep you accountable. Set reminders. Use tracking apps. Let your phone remind you of obligations. Tech is far more likely to do it than your workout buddy who still wants to be friends even if you miss a few times per week. – Kevin Parikh, Avasant
7. Tap Into A Competitive Community
Technology breeds competition—call it the “smartwatch” or “Peloton” effect.” Ever since technology has allowed us to share our fitness goals with each other, it has not only incited competition but also frustration when our peers achieve their daily or weekly goals first. Technology can help us build a community, but it also can hold us accountable for our resolutions and goals. – Todd Moore, Thales Group
8. Manage Fitness Through Next-Gen Wearables
Sticking to New Year’s resolutions boils down to accountability, but many resolutions can easily be forgotten in the daily hustle. However, next-gen wearable technologies are packed full of analytical capabilities that enable better management of health and wellness goals by sending reminders and notifications and delivering daily and weekly reports to keep the user motivated. – Jim Xiao, Mason
9. Achieve Productivity Goals Through Automation
Leveraging new automation solutions can make accomplishing professional resolutions much easier. Whatever your resolutions may be, there’s likely a digital automation solution that can help. Whether it’s RPA bots handling repetitive work or artificial intelligence and machine learning tools providing strategic insights, affordable and innovative solutions can help you and your business reach all of your 2022 goals. – Ron Cogburn, Exela Technologies
10. Set Up Team Dashboards
One simple and fun way to help teams accomplish their New Year’s resolutions is to create a simple dashboard with the desired accomplishments for each team. Report on progress weekly (or monthly), and provide recognition to the team that makes the most progress during that review interval. – Mark Schlesinger, Broadridge Financial Solutions
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