“New Year New Me!!!” has no doubt been filling all of our social media. As I start to reflect on my stupidity from this past year (laziness in classwork and not calling my parents enough from school), I start to see the little things that I let get the best of me. With the new year, I could tell myself that I could commit to going to the gym four times a week or completing my readings for the next week by Friday nights or editing every paper this semester twice before submitting it, but that is so unrealistic. With that in mind, I just want to become a better adult. College is, unfortunately, flying by and at some point, I need to get my life together and learn to be better organized to make the most of this last year or so.
After some YouTube research, I found a unique idea: a weekly GYST day.
A GYST day is defined as a day in which you “get your s*** together.” Everyone seems to have their own version of it. The Financial Diet, a YouTube channel, recommends having a weekly or monthly date with yourself to make the appointments you often put off and do cleaning or whatever else you really need to do. It’s a bit random, but according to Kalyn Nicholson, another YouTuber, this is a great way to get your life together every week. She regularly posts videos featuring all of the ways she defines this “getting things done” from week to week.
As I enter this new year, I plan to do this every week. Either Friday or Sunday, I want to make a list of small tasks to do that will make my life for the next week easier. For now, I’m not sure how that will look for the next year, but I want to make this commitment to making new goals throughout the year on this day and to take care of myself on these days. One week this can mean doing a deep clean, where another can mean going to the grocery store and meal prepping healthy lunches for the week. Of course, there will be times when Sunday is filled with last minute homework and readings. Doing this will allow me to enter the week more calm and collected as professors throw new things at me.
For my first GYST day of the year, which I did from my hometown, I went through my closet and put together some things to be donated. I made appointments I had been putting off in addition to a few things I needed to do before move-in for the semester. Doing this showed me that there was so much more to be done, but I definitely needed that deep clean and to make appointments with my doctor and dentist.
When I move in next week, we’ll see what shape this takes for me. Self-care will definitely be a key part of these GYST days because I constantly forget to do that as life gets busy and I can’t find time. So, going into this new semester, I plan to make my weekly GYST days centered around making appointments, getting work done, cleaning my dorm, going to the gym… okay maybe that’s a bit too much, but I’m going to do what I need to do to be ready for my week and take care of myself for success. Good luck to all you girlbosses on your New Year’s Resolutions!