What's Your New Year's Resolution, Birmingham?

The most popular New Year's resolutions aren't hard to guess: get in shape, save money, quit smoking, give more.

According to the University of Scranton Journal of Clinical Psychology, the top resolution for 2012 was (drumroll, please) losing weight.

But while the coming year's biggest goals might be slightly different from person to person, the challenge is the same — sticking to them beyond Jan. 1.

So do yourself a favor and commit to it right here, right now on Birmingham Patch. Post a comment with your resolution for 2013 — whether its dropping extra pounds or giving more of your time to charity — in hopes that some friendly encouragement from your neighbors will help you achieve it.

Even better: Keep track of your progress by blogging about it on Patch.

Now, what about keeping those resolutions? Here's some tips for making New Year's resolutions work for you:

• Make it attainable. Be sure that your resolution is attainable. Sticking to your monthly budget is attainable — making a million dollars may not be.
• Tell everyone. If you tell everyone about your resolution, you are more likely to keep it. If you want to quit smoking, you can even go as far as telling your friends that you'll give them $50 if they catch you lighting up.
• Be specific. If you want to get fit in the new year, set a specific goal. For example, instead of saying you want to get fit, say you want to lose 10 pounds and tone your arms and legs.
• Start small. Create small goals for yourself. If you want to organize your house, assign one room to each month. In January, organize your kitchen. In February, organize your bedroom. In March, your organize your office. In April, you organize your garage, and so on.
• Write it down. It's important to motivate yourself throughout the year. Write your resolution down on every month in your calendar. Don't let yourself forget about your resolution as the year goes on.

Happy new year from all of us at Patch, and good luck in making 2013 all you hope it will be.