With the New Year comes a new semester, and, let’s face it, making resolutions and sticking to them can be quite difficult. As a student at the David Eccles School of Business, I get it — when you’re taking 15 credit hours, drowning in readings, and studying for many exams at the same time, the goals you made at the beginning of the year (just a couple short weeks ago) have lost precedence in your busy schedule. Here are some tips and tricks to ensure that you can accomplish your resolutions as well as some ideas to get you started.

Tips and Tricks:

• Write down your goals. I know this sounds obvious but DO IT! You’re 42 percent more likely to accomplish your goals when you write them down, and that’s FACT. Even if they are written in your phone notes, who cares? You just need to start the process of visualizing your goals and creating habits that will help you accomplish them.
• Start to visualize your resolution. Put them in a place where you will see them every day. I know this probably also sounds silly, but trust the process. By constantly seeing your goals, you are reminding yourself to not forget about them, and psychologically you’re more likely to get the ball rolling.
• Make it specific. A lot of people make the mistake of making goals that are too broad to obtain. For example, a common resolution is to “exercise more,” and that’s great, but how are you going to measure “more?” Instead, your goal could be to go to the gym at least three times a week. This will hold you accountable and you will know if you hit your goal or not.
• Go big or go home! Don’t be afraid to set big goals, but understand that it is going to take time and a plan. Your big goals are going to be accomplished through feats of smaller goals. Things don’t just happen overnight!

College resolutions

• Get a specific number of hours of sleep per night. To be honest, this goal has been run into the ground. We all desperately want more sleep, and sometimes life just gets in the way. However, I am not saying to get more sleep, I am simply telling you to figure out the number of hours that works for you and stick to it. Having a consistent sleeping schedule that may be shorter is better than pulling an all-nighter and then sleeping for 12 hours the next day.
• Reduce your screentime. How many of you have stayed on your phone into the wee hours of the night, or started a Netflix series, and the next thing you know it’s 3 a.m.? As a college student, screentime is inevitable — but still in your control. Try to put a curfew on electronic use. Childish? A little bit, but the health benefits are well worth it. Apple’s new screentime alerts are a great way to track how much you are on your phone daily.
• Eat at least one healthy meal a day. Eating healthy can be a daunting task, trust me I get it. I am not a fan of many vegetables, I am allergic to nuts, which are a common healthy snack, and I don’t really know how to cook. However, there are ways around it, and instead of trying to change your whole diet, just strive to eat one healthy meal a day. Once you accomplish this, you’re more willing to adjust your other meals to be healthier throughout the day.

You can make goals at any time of the year, but the New Year is a good starting point. So if you fall victim of fallen goals in about six months, hopefully, you shouldn’t after this post, but if you do remember you can start your goals whenever. Don’t get discouraged, take a break if you need to and then get back into it. Make this semester your best semester yet, you can do it!

Bayleigh is currently a sophomore at the David Eccles School of Business. She enjoys studying Marketing, and working as an Ambassador for the Business Scholars Program and intern on the Marketing + Communications team.