With thanks to all who are participating, here are the results of this past weekend’s poll, which I’ve now closed. This poll’s focus:

How are you progressing with your 2016 goals or resolutions as we reach the end of Q1?

Setting goals and resolutions is the easy part, yes? It’s the follow-through that can be a challenge. In mid-January, 89% of respondents reported that they’d been sticking with their goals or resolutions for the new year – and that’s an unsurprisingly high percentage, only two weeks in.

Now, three months into 2016, the percentage of respondents who have unequivocally stuck with their goals declined to 58%. Still, three out of every four respondents are adhering to resolutions or goals at least some of the time – and 64% of this latest poll’s respondents are happy with their progress to date.

People have been realistic in their self-assessments, and that’s a good step toward reaching goals. Progress checks such as this one are another step, as they can help us to refocus our efforts.

If you set goals or resolutions for this year and find you’ve not made the progress you want, you’re not alone, but you also have moral support and encouragement from your peers … which you’ll see at the end of this article!

The results:

Have you established goals or resolutions for 2016?

April 2016: 79% of respondents said yes; 21% said no

January 2016: 89% of respondents said yes; 11% said no

If you set resolutions, have you stuck with them so far?

April 2016: 58% of respondents said yes; 25% said no; 17% selected “Other”. Some of those respondents commented, “much of the time” and “half the time”.

January 2016: 89% of respondents said yes; 11% said no

Is anyone surprised that there’s some slippage in sticking with resolutions? That’s why regular progress checks such as this one come in handy. With kudos to all who have maintained their resolutions, this is a good opportunity to re-commit.

Have you developed strategies or an action plan to achieve your goals or resolutions? 

April 2016: 69% said yes; 23% had not yet done so but were working on it, and 8% said no

January 2016: 56% said yes; 33% said no; 11% had not yet done so, but were working on it

We have progress!

Have you made your goals/resolutions known to others?

April 2016: 69% said yes, while 31% said no

January 2016: 59% said no, while 33% said yes and 11% of respondents selected “Other”. One such person wrote, “not yet”

Interesting; we have more than a 100% increase in the number of respondents who disclosed their goals to others. Is that because people were busily focused on getting back to routines in mid-January, or could it also reflect conscious decisions to make plans known?

Have you established timelines within which to achieve the results you want?

April 2016: 77% of respondents said yes, while 23% of respondents said no

January 2016: 56% said yes, while 44% of respondents said no

More progress on this question (and the next two); how do we get to our end point without determining how and when we want to get there?

Have you established metrics/measures by which you can measure success?

April 2016: 62% said yes, while 38% of respondents said no

January 2016: 56% said no, while 44% of respondents said yes

Have you identified habits/routines you need to drop?

April 2016: 83% said yes, while 17% of respondents said no

January 2016: 78% said yes, while 22% of of respondents said no

Have you continued incorporating any new habits or routines as part of your goals/resolutions?

April 2016: 92% said yes, they are incorporating new habits or routines as the year progresses, while 8% of respondents said no

January 2016: n/a; with the year just underway, it would have been premature to ask such a question

Are you happy with your progress to date?

April 2016: 64% said yes, while 29% said no and another 7% selected “Other”; one person in the last category wrote, “Time is Limited!!!”

January 2016: 89% said yes, while 11% of respondents said no

Have you adjusted or dropped any of your 2016 goals?

April 2016: 58% said no, while 42% said yes, they’ve made adjustments

January 2016: n/a; with the year just underway, it would have been premature to ask such a question

What advice would you offer someone who has slipped but wants to get back on track with goals?

April 2016 responses (I didn’t pose the question, natch, in January):

• Keep on assessing your career plans and focus on 2-3 areas for improvement
• Get back on that bike & start pedalling again.
• Envision the end result.
• Get back on track now! Don’t leave it until 1 Jan, journey will be much harder!
• Don’t waste time! Use every second to make you happy!
• Just try again.
• Just get back on the horse. Nothing ventured nothing gained!
• Do not give up, keep on trying!!!
• Review the timelines you have set and consider adjustments to get the job done.