Over one-fourth of 2006 is history. What did you accomplished in this quarter of the year toward fulfilling your New Year's Resolution?

If you are like most people you will have fallen behind in accomplishing your resolutions for 2006 or abandoned them entirely. That is a harsh reality, not easy to face. But it's not too late to make the effort to turn your good resolutions into accomplishments.

A New Year Begins Today

There are 10 actions you can take to help turn your resolutions into achievements by the end of the year.

1. Make certain the goals you have set for 2006 are in fact realistic and attainable. They should be a real stretch, but reachable with your best efforts. Its fine, for example, to resolve to win a big promotion, but it's not realistic to expect to make it all the way to the top in one leap.

If upon sober reflection any one or all of your resolutions seem unrealistic or if your career goals have changed, do not hesitate to make a new set of resolutions for the remainder of 2006. Begin a new year today.

2. Take a hard look of what happened to your resolutions in 2005. Learn from your accomplishments and failures.

3. Make a plan and work it. Quantify each goal. Be sure to include actions to be taken with deadlines, as well as practical ways to measure progress at least once each month.

4. Put unrelenting pressure on yourself to make progress toward your goals every day. Accept no excuses for failing to meet deadlines.

5. Treat your resolutions as a binding contract with yourself. Put the contract in writing. Post the document in a prominent place so it will be seen every day. (The bathroom mirror is a good place.) Share your resolves with other persons you respect.

6. Reward yourself for progress. Enjoy what you have accomplished.

7. Don't be discouraged by the sheer size of the challenges. Think of each resolution as a series of small, manageable tasks to be accomplished one by one.

8. Have a low tolerance for diversions. Permit them only if they are advancements toward achievements that are more important than the original goals.

9. Start now, this day. Dont let the time slip by until its too late and another year has gone by lost forever without measurable progress toward our goals.

Take seriously this admonition from Marie Edgeworth: There is no moment like the present. The man who will not execute his resolutions when they are fresh upon him can have no hope from them afterwards; they will be dissipated, lost and perish in the hurry and scurry of the world, or sunk in the sloth of indolence.

10. Remember. Nothing provides greater rewards in terms of material benefits and peace of mind than having a set of goals and feeling at the end of each day that you have made your best efforts, according to a plan, to reach them.

Ramon Greenwood

RAMON GREENWOOD

Ramon Greenwood produces a free semi-monthly newsletter providing career advice to those who want to accelerate their careers. Contact him at ramon@commonsenseatwork.com to subscribe.

Those who know Ramon Greenwood and seek his counsel likely to describe him in such terms as "realistic" and"down-to- earth." Most agree with one of his clients who recently said, "He puts his rich and varied lode of experiences to work with an eye to results. He has the ability to make even the most complicated and formidable issues seem less forbidding and more manageable."

Another client declares: "Greenwood has been in the game, in the major leagues, for a long time. He's seen the winners and the losers up close. He knows what makes the difference between the players."

Greenwood's experiences include serving as:

? Senior Career Counselor, Common Sense At Work curently. ? Senior vice president for worldwide communications at American Express; member of the board of directors of American Express Publishing Company, American Express International, Inc. and American Express Foundation. ? Vice president-public affairs Consolidated Foods Corporation (now Sara Lee Corporation).

? Senior public affairs officer, U. S. Department of Transporation, during President Gerald Ford's Administration.

? Author of HOW TO MAKE THE WORLD OF WORK WORK FOR YOU and HOW TO LAND YOUR FIRST JOB. He is co-author of THE NAME OF THE GAME IS LIFE. His writings also have included a syndicated newspaper column, "Common Sense At Work"

? Wave 9 Enterprises, Inc., CEO and director ; Children On The Go, Inc., (chairman of the board and co-founder of this Chicago- based juvenile products company) ; Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods, Inc. (marketing and advertising agency), director; Simmons First National (Banking) Corporation, director and member of the corporate executive committee.

? Management consultant who counsels, speaks and writes on a variety of subjects related to career and business strategies and organizational dynamics.