I’m focusing on achievable resolutions

Did you make a New Year’s resolution for 2018? I admit that I was in two minds. Past attempts have proved futile. I have yet to make my first million or run a marathon and my bid to become a rock god has so far been thwarted.

Instead, I have adopted a new methodology. In business school, the best of British brains use what is known as SMART thinking. It is likely you have encountered this, too.

Any decision must have specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based goals. It’s a simple tool which goes beyond the realm of fuzzy goal-setting to create an action plan beloved of managers the world over.

I have used it to put together this year’s top five targets which is, to be honest, really just an executive To Do list:

1. Learn to fly the drone my son gave me as a Christmas present last year, irrespective of either the inclement weather or indecipherable foreign instructions.

2. Discover how to convert the contact list on my iPhone so it can be used in conjunction with my Gmail account, despite Apple insisting it can’t be done.

3. Take more exercise by rejoining the rowing club (that’s the water variety as opposed to arguing with Mrs Nurden. The arguing bit has never stopped).

4. Re-book the hot-air balloon flights which have been postponed by bad winds every time they were scheduled for the past five years. 5. Stop putting things off. You will notice I have deliberately stayed clear of punishing myself with any form of long-distance running or wild claims about losing weight. For the latter, I merely plan to convert my rapidly enlarging love-handles into rippling layers of muscle through early morning workouts.

The sessions were to begin yesterday but it was raining.

So they have been postponed until tomorrow. Or, maybe Monday...