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Every year as January begins, we all get a fresh slate and extra boost of motivation to make this year the best yet, so now is the perfect time to jump on the #girlboss grind. But take a second to be realistic about what your long-term goals are (CFO of a Fortune 500? Starting your own company? Becoming a surgeon?) and think about the steps you can take this year to help you get there. Not only will this help you stay committed, but they’ll bring you closer to your dreams – who wouldn’t want that?
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1. Get Organized
We all say this every year, but that’s because it makes such a huge difference. Get a planner, install the Google Calendar app on your phone, make a weekly study date commitment with your best friend: find something that works for you and stay accountable. Being intentional with your schedule and how you tackle your workload will make it so much easier to balance everything you’ve got going on — giving you that much more time to kill at your internship or ace that midterm without going crazy in the process. The time management skills will also impress employers later on.
2. Drink more water
Especially in the winter months (Seattle is taking the Seattle Freeze way too literally right now), it’s so important to stay hydrated. Drinking water can help your skin and hair, but more importantly, it can boost your memory and concentration plus fight fatigue. Instead of relying on coffee to get you through your week of 8:30 am classes, try drinking at least one bottle of water a day and see what a difference it can make for your energy levels. (If you need your caffeine, try switching your cappucino for green tea instead; coffee can actually dehydrate you, which is the last thing you need.)
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3. Visit Career Services
TA applications, internship applications, and summer job applications are coming up. Is your resume up to date? If it looks a little plain, try Googling ‘free resume template’ and try one of the 10 million+ results. Do you need to ask people to be references? Have a cover letter drafted? Visit Career Services and make sure you’re all ready for applications and interviews (maybe they can even demystify LinkedIn). Set yourself up for success.
4. Leave negativity behind in 2016
Last year was rough. 2017 is a fresh start and a chance to embrace good vibes all day every day. Throw kindness around like confetti. Compliment your friends, your acquaintances, that girl wearing a cute sweater in the grocery store line. Don’t talk behind other people’s backs. Stop being self-deprecating; instead of saying “sorrry I’m late,” “sorry I’m such a mess,” say “thanks for waiting,” “thanks for being the greatest.” It might sound silly, but positivity can really turn your – and other people’s – day around.
5. Free up your attention
Who has time for unnecessary distractions? Unsubscribe from those emails cluttering up your inbox (use the site unroll.me to make things easy!), disable unimportant push notifications, unfollow people on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram whose posts you kind of…just…don’t care about anymore. This might seem small, but small things add up – imagine how much time you’ll save every day, week, month when you don’t have to delete all those emails, deal with incessant iPhone alerts, and scroll through posts that you don’t want to see. Getting rid of stuff that doesn’t matter to you means you’ll have more focus and time for the things that do matter.
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6. Get more sleep
This can be a real challenge when you’re juggling hard classes, leadership positions, homework, and a social life, but skimping on sleep is just going to make your life harder. Can you set your alarm a half hour later in the morning by laying your clothes out the night before? Does listening to a meditation video on YouTube help you fall asleep faster? If all else fails, consider taking a mid-afternoon nap to give your energy levels a boost. Those extra minutes in bed will actually save you time – and your sanity – in the long run.
7. Stop checking social media as soon as you get up
It’s habit to wake up, roll over, and check social media, but this will kill your momentum in the morning. Scroll through your notifications, deal with anything truly urgent (like a missed call from your mom), but after that, put the phone down; you’ll get up and get ready so much faster. Save Instagram and Facebook for while you’re eating breakfast or walking to class.
8. Surround yourself with people who make you better
Make time to see your best friends – the ones who can always make you feel better when you’re down, are full of inside jokes, and will support you and your goals unconditionally. Make competition into friendly competition and reach out to classmates you admire. Not only could you form a great study group, they’ll understand the workload and push you to be better (and might just end up being friends past the end of this quarter). On the flip side of this coin: watch out for the people in your life who don’t make you feel good. Sometimes it’s not their fault, some people just don’t click with each other. Just be careful not to get used (for homework help, for neverending last minute favors, for when someone else falls through…). You deserve better.
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9. Back up your phone & computer
This is not that glamorous, but it’ll be a lifesaver if you ever run into tech trouble. Drop your phone in the sink? Laptop won’t turn on? At least your files & photos will be saved somewhere safe. You can do this digitally, like in iCloud or DropBox, or go old school and buy an external harddrive – small, sleek, easy to store. Set an automatic reminder on iCal or Google Calendar to back up your devices once or twice a month – you won’t regret it.
10. Do something that scares you
Growth begins at the edge of your comfort zone, and sometimes something being scary just means it’s important to you. So ask that brilliant (but intimidating) prof to be your mentor. Apply to study abroad. Open an Etsy shop. Even if it doesn’t turn out perfectly or the way you expected, you will still learn and grow so much more than if you’d just stayed in your same old routine. As Sophia Amorusso (the original #girlboss) herself once said, “If you’re learning from everything that you’re doing, you’re winning.”
2017 is yours for the taking. Go get it.