The year is almost over and it is a great time to review what went right in the past year and how you can improve for 2014. There are probably not too many people in the world who are 100% happy with how things went in the past and will look for ways to improve their personal life and professional life. Rather than just sitting around talking about what could have been different, why not utilize tools to strategize how to make the New Year better? You wouldn’t go blindly into a business or relationship situation so why do you go into the New Year without a plan? Here are three ways to evaluate a new strategy for 2014 and how you can make the most of the future:

1. 1. Take Your Time.You can’t create a new strategy in a 30 minute stretch of time. There will be things you think of later and will need to add to the new plan. This is the entire year of 2014 you are trying to plan for, not just a dinner party this weekend. Start by setting out your goals for the year; that can get your brain working. Remember no goal is too big or too small to be a part of the strategy. From regular exercise to earning more money, your goals are important to you and who you are, so write them down and give yourself time to think about them. As you read them over and over again, they may change and become more defined or you may cross them off the list completely.
2. 2. Create Benchmarks for Your Goals.It’s not hard to lose focus when March rolls around and to forget about goals by the summer, but with benchmarks you can refocus. The New Year is always a great reminder of starting fresh, setting new goals, but what happens in the dreary days of February and March or even during the busy months of the fall and winter? You can easily lose focus and struggle to remember the passion you felt when designing your goals, so when you set the goals, take the time to designate a day or weekend throughout the rest of the year to evaluate your success.
3. 3. Reward Yourself and Have Fun in 2014!This is a New Year and the possibilities are endless so what is holding you back? When you come to a benchmark in the year and your goals are met, reward yourself for a job well-done. The smaller goals and rewards will maintain the necessary momentum to reach those loftier goals during the rest of the year.

Don’t let another year pass by without taking an inventory on how you can improve and take the time to evaluate how you can change your habits to become the person you truly want to be.