Many of us feel a burst of motivation come January to improve our diet, lose those extra pounds, get ourselves to the gym, and end those afternoon energy crashes. But come February, many of those goals are long-forgotten (along with a lot of fancy new gym memberships gone to waste).

To help you truly realize your goals this time around, I have put together a few of my favorite tips that I have found really help make goals stick.

Here are 4 ways to use the inspiration of the new year to set you on the path towards reaching your goals. Grab a notebook and get to work!

1) Set your intent: I consider this the roadmap of the goal world: you have to know where you’re going in order to get there (well, you may still eventually get there without a map, but it will probably take a lot longer and require a lot more detours!). Your intent helps streamline the process.

What is it that you truly would like to achieve? Once you know, write it down. This is setting your intent.

2) Visualize or write out the outcome: Once you’ve set your intent, visualize or journal about what it would feel like to achieve that goal. Let’s say you want to lose weight: how would your clothes fit? What would you look like? What would you wear to the beach?

3) Enlist the help of a loved one: Let someone you trust in on your plan. Let them know that you would like their support to help you reach your goal. If you want to improve your eating, maybe that means asking your partner to cook more vegetables. Or to cut back on the sweet treats being brought back home from the grocery store.

4) Keep track of your progress: Taking notes on your progress (or even your challenges) helps you stay focused on your goal. It helps you work around obstacles and helps you to celebrate victories, large and small.

Happy new year!