You might make goals related to reading a book about home buying, securing a mortgage, finding the type of house you want, etc. The list goes on and on. You can plan out and tackle each of these steps and set specific deadlines for yourself so you stay on track. You can set this as a short-term goal like I did in Figure D.

FIGURE D

Setting short-term goals helps make long-term goals attainable.

You can look at all of the short-term goals at once by tapping the table button in the lower right hand corner. This is shown in Figure E.

FIGURE E

Here's a list of my short-term goals.

Vows
Vows are solemn promises or undertakings. A New Year's resolution is really a vow. In the Vows section, you can jot down notes about steps that you're going to take to create the desired change in your life. You might want a better relationship with certain people in your life or you might want to reconnect with people you haven't seen in a while. What are you willing to do to make that happen? What kind of commitment do you feel comfortable making? The Vows section of this program is a place to journal about each vow you'd like to make. Make sure you're fair to yourself when you make vows, so you'll be able to live up to them. That way, your sense of your own personal integrity grows with each success.

Vows may turn into short-term goals. Making a list of friends you've lost touch with and sending each one an email or telephoning them within a week to make plans would be an example of a short-term goal that might arise from this sort of vow.

Techniques
The Techniques section of this program is like a toolbox to which you add your own tools. What kinds of things work to get you motivated? What has worked in the past? For example, researching things online is one of my favorite ways to gather enough information to make an informed decision. Figure F shows how I'd enter that technique into the program.

FIGURE F

This technique helps keep me motivated.

Enter every technique that has helped you achieve goals in the past. Enter good ones that you hear from other sources. Enter new ones you invent. Sooner or later, if you're feeling stuck, you'll find you have a great number of tools you can use to get yourself unstuck.

Conclusion
My Resolution is a very handy program to keep you focused on attaining your goals. One thing to keep in mind is that this program requires a lot of input to your handheld. It's a lot easier to do this by using the Palm Portable Keyboard (at http://www.palm.com/products/accessories/keyboard/).

Reading the manual was just as much fun as using the software. The author of My Resolution, Hwee Wai Tey, has some funny and witty insights to offer. I highly recommend you take a look for yourself.

Many success management software tools are quite expensive, but My Resolution is available for only $5. Maybe your first resolution should be to get My Resolution. That way, you can be sure you can complete at least one New Year's resolution right away.

By the way, many of you have known me as both news editor and sales manager for ZATZ, publishers of this magazine. I've recently started my own own personal success coaching business dedicated to helping people reach their goals. Although no longer a ZATZ employee, I'm still a member of the ZATZ extended family and I'll be writing for PalmPower on topics about personal growth and development.

Prior to starting her own personal success coaching business dedicated to helping people reach their goals, Heather McDaniel was both a longtime news editor and sales manager for ZATZ, publishers of this magazine. She's widely acknowledged as a leading expert on the handheld industry. Although no longer a ZATZ employee, she's still a member of the ZATZ extended family and now writes for PalmPower on topics about personal growth and development. For a free coaching session, contact Heather at heather@zatz.com.