Now that 2007 has drawn to a close, take a moment to think back on the beginning of the year. Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? And, if so, do you remember what they were?

If you do remember, I’m impressed. If you stuck with some or all of them, I’m even more impressed.

The thing about New Year’s resolutions is that it’s easy to get pumped up about them in January, but easier still to have lost sight of them by February. It’s tough to make changes to our lives when we get caught up in the daily grind.

New Year’s resolutions may not be the most successful of institutions. Maybe we should call them year-round resolutions to give them a more long-term feeling.

But whatever the name may be — resolution, pledge, goal, objective (yes, I’m using a thesaurus) — we know we can’t live without them.

Solutions for resolutions
If you’re the resolution-making type but not so much the resolution-keeping type, consider these general tips, courtesy of the University of Maryland Medical Center:

• Don’t keep your resolutions to yourself. Family members and friends can help you stay on course.

   

• Give goals meaning. Strive not for things that society suggests are good for you but for things that you really want to achieve.

   

• Avoid absolute resolutions. Instead of saying that you won’t do a certain thing anymore, try doing it less.

   

• Take baby steps. Like Bill Murray in What About Bob?, set realistic goals and then take small steps toward them.

   

• View mistakes as opportunities for learning. If you don’t reach your goals, figure out what held you back and adjust accordingly.

  I’m certainly no expert in this field (I’m still trying to remember my resolutions from last year), but it occurs to me that another good tip would be to write resolutions some place where you’ll see them occasionally, whether it’s a dry-erase board in your office or just a piece of paper that you can stick to the wall with a tack.

  Can we help?
  One of our goals here at SCHOOL BUS FLEET is to provide information that will help you do your job better. I hope that we have done and will continue to do just that.

  Maybe you won’t find something in these pages that you’ll turn into a New Year’s resolution, but I like to think that we have some good ideas to share — ideas that you might implement at your own operation. More often than not, they come from your counterparts at other operations.

  For example, our Great Fleets Across America feature, which is now in its eighth edition, gives you a look at successful school district transportation departments and contractor companies from all over the nation.

  As we write these profiles, we try to uncover the innovative practices that these pupil transportation professionals have in place to increase safety, maximize efficiency, boost morale and so forth.

  Take a look at this year’s group of Great Fleets, and let us know if you have any of your own year-round solutions to share.