For some of us, the start of a new year is a great opportunity to reflect and plan ahead for the next 365 days. But—let’s be real—for most of us, it’s a time to make promises we don’t really intend to keep.

However, I’ve found that with a little extra effort, I can make my New Year’s resolutions work for me rather than against me. This is the goal-setting strategy I used last year, and it helped me meet 19 of my 20 writing goals for 2017.

1. Be selfish. Think about what you want to accomplish in 2018—not what society, your friends, or your pesky mother-in-law think you should do. Choose goals that you actually want to accomplish, and you’ll have a much better chance of achieving them (plus you’ll be, you know, happy).

2. Choose reasonable goals. Your goals should challenge you, but not set you up for disappointment. Set goals that, given your timeframe and your other responsibilities, will be realistically achievable in the coming year.

3. Set a deadline. Most people work faster and more efficiently when they have a deadline, even if it’s a self-imposed one. Consider how much time your goals should reasonably take, and set a rough deadline for each.

4. Create a plan of attack. Set yourself up for success by determining how you’re going to accomplish your goals, then gathering the supplies you need. Break long-term goals into smaller steps and create a rough schedule. If your goal is to write a book, plan to spend January and February doing research, March writing your outline, and April through September writing the first draft.

5. Diversify your goals. To stay well-rounded, aim to learn a few different things in a few different areas this year. For instance, my writing-related goals include revising a novel, producing short stories, being active on social media, writing blog posts, and attending writing retreats.

6. Adjust your goals as you go. When June rolls around, the goals you set in January may no longer align with your vision for the year. Maybe you’ve realized this goal isn’t important to you (see #1). Maybe you met your goal early and are ready to move on. Maybe a goal turned out harder than you expected, and you need some extra time to work on it. I revisit my goals every three months or so, assessing my progress toward my long-term goals and setting new short-term goals for the following quarter.

7. Write. Them. Down. It’s been well established that writing things down makes you more likely to do them—and I can tell you, from my own experience, it makes a huge difference. There are all kinds of fancy planners designed to help you set goals, or you can simply write out your goals on a few pages of notebook paper, like I did. For example, one of my 2017 goals was to read 20 books. Underneath this goal, I left 20 lines empty, where I recorded each book as I read it. I got a confidence boost every time I sat down to fill in a new slot, and these pages were a great resource when I reassessed my goals throughout the year (see #6).

What are your goals for 2018? If you want them to stick, set aside some time to plan them!