Exercise more, eat less junk, go to bed earlier, spend less money, study more…it seems as if each semester starts out the same – we tell ourselves to do more of this and less of that but often fail to meet up to the standards we set for ourselves. Before we know it, finals week will be here and we will look back on the semester and realize we still haven’t mastered time management or adopted the work out regimen we imagined ourselves doing. Luckily, we’re only three weeks in to school and have plenty of time to make this semester productive, healthy and less stressful. Here are some of my personal goals and others I think you will also add to your bucketlist of goals to accomplish this semester.
1. Be healthier all around.
As the semester gets busier, it’s so easy to fall into a habit of stress eating, running on way less than eight hours of sleep and skipping the gym. This semester, make a conscious effort to eat well-balanced meals that can provide the energy for you to make it to the gym at the end of a long day. Starting off the day with a high-protein breakfast is one of the best and easiest ways to have more energy throughout the day.
Source: The Challenge
If you have a kitchen, use it! Cooking meals from whole foods can seem daunting and time consuming as a college student, but it can be done and you will feel the benefits. Junior journalism major Jasmine Song said one of her top priorities this semester is taking advantage of her kitchen.
“There’s always that temptation to go to McDonalds or Noodles [& Company] so I really want to try to stay healthier this semester and cook my own food as much as possible,” she said. “I want to eat less processed foods as much as possible.”
2. Procrastinating
High school teachers tried to scare us about the impossible coursework in college, but I don’t think this is the biggest challenge. What can often be more difficult is choosing how to manage your time. Most students can attest to pulling a dreadful all-nighter to start and finish a term paper that they were supposed to start weeks ago.
Source- Quick Meme
Junior communications major Arielle Kroloff said she wants to avoid putting assignments off till the last minute. “I really want to study more in advance for my midterms this semester instead of cramming,” she said. “Slowly but surely I’ll get the A’s.”
3. Finding a balance
We want a perfectly balanced life, but we all tend to focus too much on one aspect of our lives and neglect the others. Some of us may prioritize happy hours and going out a little too much, while other students stress themselves out over every class assignment and forget to enjoy their college years. For junior biology major Lauren Groft, this is the tendency she wants to work on this fall.
“I feel like in the past semesters, I’ve taken my academics really seriously and sometimes sacrificed my social life,” she said. “I just want to find a better balance this semester. I’m going to try to plan and get certain work done earlier so the work will be done, and I’ll be able to do the fun things I want to do.”
Now is the time to make a list of your semester goals and realistically plan how you will achieve them. Once finals week is here, you’ll be proud of how you made this semester healthier and less stressful than all the others!