Where do you want to travel in 2015? Who made the cut for your New Year’s travel resolution?

USA.gov published a list of popular New Year’s resolutions, listing thirteen for the 2015 Resolutions list. Although not numbered, “Take a Trip” comes in as #11. Travel is often on a top resolutions list. According to Real Simple magazine, only eight percent of people actually keep their New Year’s resolutions.

Between December 28th and December 30th, I sit back and look at my calendar. I look at where I traveled for the year, comparing it to my list from the previous year.  I look at who I missed and who I’d like to add for the new year. Then I map out how I can hit my travel resolution for the upcoming year. It’s a tricky mix of balancing destinations I want to visit primarily for work and destinations I’d like to visit as a family.

This is usually the first stage of my personal travel planning process.

If you’ve set your sites at being a more active traveler, looking at the Real Simple figure can be discouraging.

Scratch the Word Resolution

Fret not. As with any other resolution, my suggestion is to make your travel resolution, a goal. First of all, just go ahead and call it that! Say, “My 2015 travel goals are…..” This is the first step in making it more concrete.

Step 1

Create a really small goal first and then go from there. For people who have a hard time hitting those resolutions, tiny goal-setting can be invaluable.

What does this mean exactly?

Tiny goal-setting is the act of setting a really small and achievable goal that you can easily accomplish. It relieves pressure and quells disappointment because oftentimes you’ll not only hit your goal, but you will also surpass it.

Here’s how you can apply it to your travel goals. Say your resolution may be to travel “more” or travel “somewhere new.” This is a common resolution. To make it more achievable, make it a more specific and therefore, actionable goal by stating: “At the end of the month, I’m going to travel somewhere new that’s within driving distance.”

“New” can be to another city in your state that you’ve never been to before or a city in a neighboring state. Look at your calendar, pick a weekend that you’re free and plan a day trip. If money allows, do an overnight trip. Reserve your hotel room for January (outside of the holiday) – rates are fairly agreeable this time of year.

By the end of the month, you will have accomplished your travel resolution: traveling somewhere new.

Step 2

If you opted to set “travel more” as your goal, repeat the previous exercise for the month of February and March, picking two new locations that are easy to get to (if you’re just getting your travel legs wet) and add them to the calendar.

By the end of the first quarter of the year, you will have traveled to three new places and achieved two parts of your overall travel resolution: to travel more and to travel somewhere new.

Step 3

For those of you with more financial and time resources, pick a couple of international destinations that you’ve been wanting to visit and start tracking prices now. Your best rates are going to fall between January and April (before Spring Break) so now is a good time to actively get your travel planning underway.

If You Need Extra Help

If affording travel is a real challenge for you, then you should check out my webinar series on Saving Money on Travel. The first 60-minute webinar covered 12 Simple Solutions to Save Money on Air Travel. You can catch the replay here. 

The second LIVE webinar will be held tonight at 9pm EST and will cover solutions to save money while you travel was great. I will share more money-saving strategies so that you can travel more. Registration is here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5103317613079135489

My goal is to see more people traveling, sharing their stories of adventure and enlightenment. The more of us that travel, the more we all understand one another and live peacefully amongst ourselves.

My 2015 resolution is to not only travel more for discovery, adventure, enjoyment and enlightenment but to also turn dreamers into travelers. Register for my webinar if you’d like to join me on that journey.

Happy New Year! 

* As always, I appreciate you sharing my nuggets with your friends!”