This year is coming to a close after the somewhat back-to-normal lifestyle from the effects of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. While some people continue to live with the same motivations as the year’s progress, others hold fast to the motto “new year, new me,” setting new year resolutions, and only following those resolutions for the first month of the year. Personally, the idea of “new year, new me” doesn’t quite strike me as something that would help to improve my overall well-being and productivity, but there are a few goals that I’d like to reach in the upcoming spring semester.
Procrastination and I have an ambivalent relationship. At times, procrastination can be good, allowing myself to have a mental break from the stressful activities that encompass my whole being. Most of the time, however, procrastination traps me in a dark void of hours, days, and sometimes even weeks without doing simple tasks or assignments. Next semester, one of my goals is to keep my planner up to date and finish all the written tasks. Rather than using sleep as a procrastination tool, I will keep myself awake by reading a book or just sucking it up and starting my work because, let’s be honest, once a task begins, the motivation builds back up.
My next goal is to get more sleep (preferably at night instead of in broad daylight). Sleep is important! As a college student, it can be easy to forget about the vast impact that sleep has on us. But honestly, what even is sleep? I’m not implying that I don’t sleep, but let’s just say my hours are very off, and my circadian rhythm is highly disoriented. Next semester, instead of taking long naps during the day, I will work to stay awake and preoccupy myself with simple tasks and set a specific cut-off time for sleep each night.
Stress can cause me to build up tension in my body and even almost completely shut down. So, instead of letting this happen, I plan to exercise! A quick 30 minutes on the treadmill and 15 minutes on the rowing machine could let out so much of that built-up stress. Exercise is healthy for my personal mental and physical well-being, and also good for emotional well-being, because who doesn’t love letting out a good cry while running on the treadmill, listening to “Jealous” by Labrinth on repeat?
It’s important to remember to take one day at a time and not rush the college journey. Out of the eight semesters in the four years of my college experience, one semester has already flown by, being the fastest three months of my life. My biggest goal is to look at each day with a positive attitude and soak up the smaller current accomplishments, rather than focusing on the bigger future ones.
As a freshman, the idea of starting all new classes and preparing for the first spring semester of my college experience is exciting, but I must also stay motivated to reach these goals. In the long run, it will be helpful for my life and academic career.