5 New Year's Resolutions for College Students
Whether you’re a freshman or a senior, each semester brings new challenges and lessons learned. And with a new year turning the page between semesters, now can be a good time to reflect on those lessons and the things you want to achieve in the coming year.
Good New Year’s resolutions should be reasonable, attainable, and focused on your personal goals. Check out the list below for a few resolution ideas to help you get started on yours.
1. Make Healthier Choices
Too many late night snacks and pizza runs? One of your New Year’s resolutions could be to start making healthier choices. General resolutions such as “lose weight” or “eat healthier” are difficult to track and don’t give you anything to measure your progress against. Specific goals, like going to the gym three days a week or eating vegetables with every dinner, will be easier to follow and will help you stick to your plan.
2. Get More Sleep
Being well rested is important for your health, no matter how much you need to study or how much time you want to spend with your friends. If you are constantly feeling tired in class, you should think about how many hours of sleep you’re getting each night. If it’s not a lot, set a goal to go to bed earlier. Staying up super late to study might not help you remember information any better. In fact, it might make it more difficult to focus without proper sleep. Pay attention to what your body is telling you and set a measurable resolution to get seven to eight hours of sleep a night.
3. Finish Assignments Before the Deadline
You have more freedom in college, and with that freedom comes more responsibility. It’s easy to fall victim to procrastination. Therefore, it’s up to you to stay on top of your assignment deadlines and schedule sufficient study breaks. Avoid the stress of panicking the night before an assignment is due. Write all exam and assignment due dates in your planner. One trick is to write assignment dates one day before they’re actually due. Be sure to also record exam dates in your class notebooks and on your electronic calendar. Kicking the procrastination habit will help you reduce stress.
4. Get Involved on Campus
Even though the fall semester is over, it’s not too late to join new clubs and organizations in the spring term. Getting involved in sports, clubs and other extracurricular activities on campus is a great way to make friends, have fun, and build up your resume. This is the time to develop your interests and start to think about what you want to do after college. Participating in sports or joining career-based interest clubs will help you fulfill your college experience outside of the classroom. In the new year, make it your goal to try at least one or two new activities or clubs.
5. Apply for Internships
An internship can help you decide if a certain career is the right fit for you. What you may have thought to be your future career could turn out to be different from what you expected. Or, maybe you’ll confirm that this is what you want to do. Internships help you build experience in the field, which shows employers that you’re serious about pursuing a career. If you want to improve your chances of getting hired after graduation, having an internship or two on your resume is a great way to show employers that you’re ready.
Posted: January 11, 2018