SMART Goals, New Year Intentions and Building Consistent English Learning Habits That Actually Work
Welcome to Episode 10 of No Pressure English — a podcast for intermediate and advanced English learners.
In this episode, we explore how to turn vague New Year intentions into practical, sustainable progress using the SMART goal framework — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound. From a survey on New Year resolutions to a personal language learning example with Italian, this episode gives you tools you can apply immediately to your own learning, routines and personal development.
Here is this episode’s free transcript →
Episode 10: New Year’s Resolutions and SMART Goals
Hello and welcome to No Pressure English with Kevin. You’re very, very welcome to this episode of the podcast, episode number 10. Just a quick reminder that this is a podcast for intermediate and advanced English language learners, and there is a transcript in the description, which I highly recommend checking out, as it has a glossary with the most difficult words explained.
That said, today we’re going to talk about New Year’s resolutions. So it is a new year, and happy 2026, incidentally, to all of you listening. Last week, I put out an episode—well, it was the second part of a two-parter related to the Beatles and how the Beatles can influence your English language learning or act as a reference point.
But in reality, we were just identifying that anything you can become interested in can be a gateway into different areas for your English study. So I’m going to talk a little bit about New Year’s resolutions and the new year because we are in a new year, whether we like it or not. We said goodbye to 2025, and 2026 has begun.
So I really hope that it’s begun well for you. So, I don’t know. Look, at the end of the year, for some strange reason, we go through this kind of self-assessment or self-evaluation, appraisal, or at least I think a lot of people do.
And some people say, “I want to do X, Y and Z in 2026. This is my year!” Other people think about it, but maybe they don’t say it, or they don’t state their goals.
But it’s there somewhere, lurking in the background. So, I want to talk a little bit about those goals, the goals that we set for the new year every year. It seems pretty much every year we’re doing the same thing.
And that’s the reality of it. You know, these goals—we really should take them with a pinch of salt. They can’t be so serious.
In reality, you’re probably doing all the right things. But I think the new year is just a reminder to say, “Hey, do more of that,” or “Maybe I could add another five minutes to my practice,” or to be more specific, more focused, more considered in our choices related to what we want to improve in our lives.
So it should be done without pressure. So I have to admit that I used to think that New Year’s resolutions were absolute bullshit. Sorry for my bad language.
But yes, BS, absolute nonsense. But this year, I wanted them to be very well thought out and specific. So for that reason, I sat down, I wrote them out.
And here we are. I’m talking about them now.
Although I’m not going to talk only about my resolutions, I’m actually going to first discuss a survey that was carried out in the States, the United States, related to New Year’s resolutions.
So there was a survey done. People love surveys, eh? But first of all, 70% of people said, “I don’t make resolutions.”
Okay, I’m calling bullshit on that. Or I’m saying I don’t believe that. I think some people keep their resolutions to themselves.
Of course, some people don’t make them. And that’s fair enough. But I think some people keep their resolutions to themselves a little bit, that is.
And maybe they’re a little bit guarded. They don’t want to reveal what they want to do because maybe it won’t happen. And they might feel embarrassed or ashamed.
I don’t know. Maybe that’s my own interpretation because I felt that firsthand before. But 70% of people just said, “Hey, look, I don’t care. It’s a new day, turn the page and let’s move forward.” And I respect that too.
But 30% of people said that they do have New Year’s ambitions or objectives for the new year, some targets or goals.
So what did they say? I’m not going to go through the entire list because I will not bore you with that. But essentially—well, I disagree with the list because the goals were just so generic and bland and boring. And life should not be like that, nor should your goals.
They’re very vague. There’s no real detail to them. So, for example, we have on the top of the list or at the top of the list, essentially, exercising more. Being happy is on the list, which is—yeah, it’s a goal. But is it a goal?
Then we have – eating healthier. Okay, at least there’s more focus or awareness in that goal. Number four is saving more, saving more money.
Then we have – improving physical health. And then we have mental health, taking care or improving one’s mental health. I actually like that this one’s on the list because it’s cool to see that there’s more awareness in society over mental health issues.
And I think on the survey, I read that people under 45 years of age were twice as likely to make New Year’s resolutions. So that means that there is a shift, a dramatic shift in perspective among young people towards mental health issues and an openness to discuss them, which is progress.
So we also have spending time with family, learning something new, and praying or general spiritual activities or investigation, which is also cool.
All right, so you could really group these into four or five different categories. There’s physical and mental health and well-being, finances, career advancement or job satisfaction is there a little bit lower on the list, spirituality and relationships, etc. So yeah, you could group them into these categories.
And you could make goals from these categories, which I know a lot of people have done already. And it’s nothing new probably to a lot of you who are listening.
You know, all goals should be SMART, to reuse or reutilise an old acronym that everybody uses in the business world. But let’s face it, it’s true. And it’s applicable to our lives when we really investigate.
So a SMART goal, what is it? And for those of you who don’t know, it’s something that is:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Realistic
- Time-bound
So I think, when I look at the study, and when I think about SMART goals together, maybe the idea is, hey, dream big, but have SMART goals, or dream big, but plan SMART. Be accountable. “Be accountable” is probably the most important one because we make these goals, and then if they fall by the wayside, or if we don’t do something that we said we would do, then we start beating ourselves up, or we start feeling a little bit of shame or guilt about failing.
So we need to make small, reasonable goals, things that we can achieve so that we feel good, because the whole point of these goals is to feel better. It’s to feel better about yourself.
So if you are making goals that are too ambitious, and then you feel terrible, it’s counterintuitive, or it goes against the idea, and it undermines your own feeling about life in a sense, or progress in life in a sense.
Okay, so I’m going to share one of my personal goals for 2026. And it’s a simple goal. I want to improve my reading skills, my pronunciation, and my vocabulary in my target language, which is Italian.
So anybody who listened to episode three might remember that Italian is the language that I am focused on currently. So it’s a simple goal that I have. It’s very specific. I want to spend 10 minutes every day reading out loud in Italian.
Any words that I’m unsure about when it comes to pronunciation- even if I know the word- it happens very frequently to me that I know a word, and I have a doubt. So I copy and paste it, and I Google it, and I listen to it. Then I repeat the word to ensure that I have the correct pronunciation.
Then, for any new words, of course, I copy and paste them, and I look for the meaning. But I try to go through it first, and then just go through it again, maybe the next day, to look for more specific vocabulary that I’m lacking.
Going back to the goal, it’s very specific. 10 minutes. Is it measurable? Well, yeah, it’s 10 minutes. So boom, I can do it, right? I’m already doing it.
I know I can do it. I’m not putting too much pressure on myself because it’s 10 minutes, and I could waste those 10 minutes scrolling on my phone, and I don’t want to do that this year.
I want to decrease the amount of time I spend scrolling aimlessly. Anyway, that’s a conversation for another day. So is it measurable? Yes, I can mark it.
And I can say I’ve done my 10 minutes every day. So, I have like a monthly tracker. They’re very good. I definitely recommend them. I tick a box every day, just to say that I have performed this activity or this task.
Is it achievable? As I said, it is because I’m already doing it. So, I did it yesterday, and I will do it today. No problem.
Is it realistic? Again, it is realistic because I can fit it into my day. I know I can fit it into my day already.
And time-bound? Well, I don’t have any kind of deadlines, but I suppose this, for me, is more about fixing a time in the day that I do it. So “when” is the most important question. When will I do this? I know I can do it, but when? When am I going to do it? And that’s crucial.
You make yourself accountable for your goals, choosing “when.” You can have abstract ideas about “I’m going to be great,” or “I’m going to run a marathon next year, it’s my year,” blah, blah, blah. But if you don’t do the preparation, and you don’t do the three kilometres here and the six kilometers there, and you don’t decide when you will do them, then you’re never going to run the marathon.
Okay, the same idea. If you don’t do 10 minutes here and 15 minutes there, you’ll never see the real progress, or you won’t feel the progress. So for me, my house is relatively quiet between 9 and 10 p.m. in the evening.
So that’s when I’ve decided—usually 9:30 p.m.-ish is the perfect time for me. As I said, going back to the “when,” I’ve chosen the “when,” but I know there are exceptions to the rule.
Worst-Case Scenarios
Okay, so the worst-case scenario. This, again, I find very important for any goal setting in life. What’s the worst-case scenario? Sometimes life gets in the way of the best-laid plans and intentions. It might be a work situation or a family situation that changes the course of your plans.
So what do I do in the worst-case scenario? Two minutes. Okay, I’m going to do two minutes. I will read one paragraph out loud in the car if I need to, if I’m in the car.
Obviously not while driving, but when I arrive home, or etc. You know, two minutes, read out loud, and then stop. Okay, that’s it.
That’s my worst-case scenario. But as long as I do that, my brain will know this is important. This is what we do every day, usually at this time, but we do it every day.
Okay? And that’s how I will cement it into my routine. And maybe I will reward myself with a nice cup of tea after, just to feel a small sense of achievement.
So, do you have any SMART goals for 2026 or in general? What’s your overall goal for the year? If you have a New Year’s resolution, what is it? And what are you going to do today or this week to take small steps in the right direction?
Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. It’s January. It is January. Okay, so take it easy. It’s already miserable outside. Maybe (you should) start in February. That might even be the best time to start a New Year’s resolution.
Anyway, guys, I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of the podcast. Take care of yourselves. Have a great week.
Ciao, ciao.
Comprehensive Glossary
incidentally (adv) – by the way; as a minor point; used to introduce additional information
two-parter (noun) – something divided into two parts; a two-part series
reference point (noun phrase) – a standard or basis for evaluation or comparison; a point of orientation
gateway (noun) – an entrance or means of access; a way to reach or achieve something
self-assessment (noun) – evaluation of oneself or one’s actions and attitudes
self-evaluation (noun) – the process of judging or analyzing one’s own performance or abilities
appraisal (noun) – an assessment or evaluation of something; a judgment
lurking (verb) – remaining hidden or present but not obvious; waiting in the background
take them with a pinch of salt (idiom) – to view something with skepticism; not to take something too seriously
fair enough (phrase) – acceptable; reasonable; that’s okay
guarded (adj) – cautious and reserved; careful not to reveal too much
firsthand (adv/adj) – from direct personal experience; directly experienced
turn the page (idiom) – to move on to a new chapter; to start fresh
generic (adj) – lacking specificity or detail; general and not distinctive
bland (adj) – lacking strong features or characteristics; uninteresting or dull
vague (adj) – not clear or specific; lacking detail
group (verb) – to organize or categorize things together; to arrange in categories
SMART (acronym) – an acronym for goal-setting: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound
acronym (noun) – an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words
applicable (adj) – relevant or appropriate; able to be applied
specific (adj) – clearly defined or identified; precise and exact
measurable (adj) – able to be measured or quantified
achievable (adj) – able to be accomplished or attained; realistic to complete
realistic (adj) – having a sensible and practical idea of what can be accomplished
time-bound (adj) – having a specific deadline or time frame; limited by time
fall by the wayside (idiom) – to be abandoned or neglected; to fail to continue
beating ourselves up (idiom) – to criticise oneself harshly; to be too hard on oneself
counterintuitive (adj) – contrary to intuition or common sense; opposite of what seems logical
undermines (verb) – to weaken or damage gradually; to sabotage
target language (noun phrase) – the language that someone is learning or trying to improve
go through (phrasal verb) – to examine or review something; to read or study carefully
aimlessly (adv) – without purpose or direction; randomly and without focus
crucial (adj) – extremely important; essential; critical
exceptions to the rule (idiom) – cases that don’t follow the general pattern; special circumstances
worst-case scenario (noun phrase) – the most unfavourable outcome that could happen
gets in the way (phrasal verb) – interferes with; prevents or obstructs something
best-laid plans (idiom) – carefully made plans that can still go wrong; from the phrase “the best-laid plans of mice and men”
cement (verb) – to make permanent or fixed; to establish firmly
The survey mentioned in this episode was conducted by YouGov – https://today.yougov.com/society/articles/53789-americans-new-years-resolutions-2026-poll
**Alternatively, you can watch the video below and turn on the subtitles by clicking the CC button in the top right corner:
If you liked this episode, you may enjoy the following:
https://nopressureenglish.com/podcast/episode-3-how-old-are-you-in-english/
https://nopressureenglish.com/podcast/episode-7-celebrating-your-progress-in-language-learning/
