year, several business clients have stated they are not keeping up with their New Year's resolutions, there is clutter everywhere and they are already behind on reports. What to do? My humble advice is to firstly, throw the resolutions out, write a personal mission statement and set goals instead.

Yes, start this year fresh with attainable goals from your personal mission statement. Do not use the usual failure set-up New Year's resolutions list.

After all, if you can correctly recall back to the last 5 years, more likely than not, the same items were on your resolution list. And that only boils down to one thing -- you didn't accomplish it then, so why should this year be any different is the question you should be asking your friend in the mirror.

Setting goals can greatly increase efficiency and productivity in your office, business and home environments. We all need to be extremely careful when setting up goals and make them within reason. Trying to reach an impossible unattainable goal will only set us up for failure.

We also need to make sure our goals are our own goals and not the expectations of others. It's not only difficult, but absolutely complex and troublesome to achieve success for others' expectations, views, hopes and or beliefs.

Also setting specific attainable goals is beneficial as general goals tend to be difficult to carry through. Setting time limits on attaining our goals is also vital. I want to be rich and successful is sort of a traditional general goal. A specific goal with a time schedule would be, I want to have at least $250,000 cash in my bank account upon retirement. Then sitting down and planning how you can attain that goal by writing the stages step by step to secure that goal.

Visualising for success can be valuable in goal setting. Focusing is another viable tool. Try closing your eyes and imagine exactly what your office, desk, account, calendar and events list will look like when all the clutter is taken away. Go a little further and hear all the rave comments you will receive on your accomplishments. This exercise although it may seem tedious to some, actually can help you get your aims and objective within sight.

Recording your goals is a key to successfully reaching them. According to Mastergroup Business this task seems obvious but over 95 percent of the population today do not have or have not written down their goals. Further, a research study performed by Harvard University, followed the history of graduates -- identifying those who had written their goals down and those that had not. The study found that the small number of those with written goals vastly outperformed the others combined! If someone is not supportive of your goals, don't discuss your aims with them. Find only positive reinforcements for your realistic objectives.

The next step should be to prioritise your recorded goals. This is where you begin to make choices. In life we all have choices. The successful ones around us made the right choices. The power to choose is one of the greatest powers one possesses. Papers lying in disarray, clutter, late reports, being disorganised right down to what one eats and drinks is the power of choice.

Making the right choices is a combination of knowing what you want and what your values are in life. These are all attainable through making proper attainable goals. Develop a plan to achieve your set goals. And try following the tips from CIBC: Attitude -- Is any part of your mind-set holding you back? Is there any part of the way that you behave that upsets you? If so, set goals to improve or cure the problem, even if the goal is only to get help.

Career -- What level do you want to reach in your career? Is there any knowledge you want to acquire in particular? What information and skills will you need to achieve other goals? Physical -- Are there any athletic goals you want to achieve, or do you want good health deep into old age? What steps are you going to take to achieve this? Public Service -- Do you want to make the world a better place by your existence? If so, how? Social -- Do you have any social ambitions? Breaking down the projects to achieve your long-term goal into smaller bite sized pieces will make it more easily attainable and less overwhelming and stressful.

If possible, think about your goals daily and spend a few minutes reading your goals out loud. To visualise yourself at the different stages of your goals is one of the best ways to internalise and bring positive results.

Review your plans and make sure they fit into you life style. Try to stay on course by periodically reviewing and updating your master plan and modify them to reflect your changing priorities. And remember it's never too late, do not be put off by I am too old, if it is that BA or MA degree you want, that promotion, whatever, go after it and know you can do it! And last but not least, knowing the direction you are headed, makes it that much easier and faster to reach there.

Thanks for your responses, your feedback is greatly appreciated.