New Year’s Eve is right around the corner, which means it’s time to come up with a resolution you hope to accomplish…and probably give up mid-January. While many people choose the typical “I want to lose weight” or “I’ll be more active” resolutions, here are some more creative resolutions that you could try for in 2017. Because we all know that losing weight probably isn’t going to happen in college.
1. Spend less time on social media
We’re all accustomed to being on social media all day, everyday. Try to set a limit for how much you will use it and if it starts to work, decrease the amount of time. Maybe set a goal for how many times you’ll check Twitter, or how many snaps you post on your story. Get out and enjoy life instead of hiding behind your screens. A tip that you could try is deleting the apps from your phone because that way you will be less likely to check them as often. There’s an app called BreakFree that monitors your phone addiction; maybe all you need is to see that you’re actually spending way more time on your phone than you thought.
2. Start budgeting your money
In college, it’s easy to fall into a routine of spending money on silly things. Maybe instead of buying food from Postmates or Tapingo, make a grocery list and take a trip to Fresh Grocer to budget your food for the week. While that expensive chinese food may sound good, your wallet will thank you later. This does not mean you cannot spend money at all, but just start buying things you really need instead of everything you want. Also, avoid the bookstore unless you absolutely need something (No…you don’t need the cherry and white pom-poms), because you’ll always get sucked in by the new Temple apparel. Buy cleaning supplies in bulk and try not to take too many spontaneous trips to Walnut Street and Rittenhouse Square, because the only thing to do there is spend money you don’t actually have.
3. Stop procrastinating
No one likes staying up the night before cramming for an exam or writing a research paper, but we all still do it. Procrastination is something that many college students face because we would much rather relax than read a boring book by some dead guy. But in the long run, we always regret leaving things to the last possible minute. Next semester, try doing a small amount of work each night leading up to the due date. This means you will be doing less work but you will still get it done on time. The key to this: getting a super cute agenda to plan out your assignments.
4. Become more aware of what’s going on in the world
This year’s presidential election showed that more people need to be informed about what is going on in the world. Instead of just learning about news from your parents or peers, download some news apps (6abc and NBC10 are our go-to’s) or get newsletters delivered to your email inbox every morning (we recommend the New York Times Morning Briefing and TheSkimm. This will help you become more aware of events happening around the world but also events that are happening right in front of you. You can even start a cute tradition with your roommates by watching the world news together every night.
5. Meet new people
Part of college is for meeting new people. Don’t get into the rut of just hanging out with the same group of friends. Talk to the people around you in class or join clubs and get to know others. Start up a conversation with your neighbor because you never know how friendships start until you try. Compliment a girl’s makeup or outfit the next time you are at a party.
Sticking to New Year’s Resolutions can be rough, but choose one that you know you want to try. You don’t know what will happen until you try, so go ahead and give it a shot! We believe in you.