The problem with resolutions

I've been thinking a lot about resolutions and how I don't make them. Instead, I try to do 100 of something. I am still working out the details of what that will be this year, but in the meantime, I have been thinking about my resistance of resolutions and how they normally get broken.

The problem for me is that resolutions feel like a self-inflicted restriction. Yes, we all say we want to exercise more, be more fiscally responsible or eat better, but it's hard to keep that up and it's easy to slide into the old habits. Also: Sometimes I question if people really think about the work it takes to create the new habits those changes bring on.

Let's take screentime as an example. By now, we have probably all seen that parents are just as addicted to their devices as children (if not more). So, let's say you want to be a good role model and cut back your screentime use - would you be able to do that? What if a text comes in? Or what if you are talking to a friend and can't remember the lead singer of Kajagoogoo and it is just on the tip of your tongue and driving you crazy and you have to look it up? Or what if you wake up on a Saturday feeling lousy and just want to watch television all day?

Do you really have the will power it would take to stop yourself and remember that you've already used all your screentime that day?

In my house, I am the keeper of my son's screentime clock. I tell him when he has hit his limit, but there is no one to keep me in check. And I think that is a huge part of what makes resolutions so difficult for me: I need someone checking up on me from time to time.

Did you make any resolutions this year? Tell me how you plan to keep them in the comments.