1. Phrase your goal in a way that sounds exciting to you. Play around with different versions and see what you like best.
If the phrase “I am going to learn photoshop this year”, does not excite you, choose one that does. “I am going to be able to edit my photos” may sound more rewarding to you.
 
2. Be the script writer, director and actor of your new life. Visualise yourself, in that new situation when you have achieved your goal. Create a film in your mind’s eye, of you speaking the new language you want to learn, you having achieved your sales target or whatever else it is you want to achieve.

3. Decide on a reward. When you have achieved your goal, how will you reward yourself?

4. Tell friends what your goal is. That will motivate you to stay on track.
 
5. Make your goal challenging without it being unrealistic. Setting yourself an overambitious goal, may frustrate you and lead to you giving up.

6. Break up big goals into milestones. If your goal is to lose 15 kg, then set yourself a target of losing 3 kg a month and celebrate at the end of each month when you achieve that.

7. Decide when you are going to start and be firm with yourself. The problem with some resolutions is that people keep putting them off forever believing that the following day things will be easier. They rarely are.