Quick Tips for Acheiving Your New Year’s Resolutions

Three hundred and sixty-five is quite a lot of days. Although each year seems to fly by faster than an angsty nerd on his way to the library, with the right attitude and strategies, you’d be surprised at the changes you can make!

1. First, make your resolutions specific. This way it is easier to see them tangibly acheived. Saying “In 2014, I will be healthier” is great, but could also be considered accomplished after deciding one afternoon to order the tall frappucino instead of the venti. That one instance will make little difference. On the flip side, such a vague resolution could become overwhelming, and going overboard with healthy choices might make the goal seem impossible after only a few weeks, causing you to give up entirely. Narrowing it down to goals such as “Exercise three times a week, drink once a week”, etc. will be easier to track, resulting in immediate satisfaction with each successful week.
2. Take the year week by week. Or day by day, depending on your resolution’s difficulty. Shooting for a certain cumulative GPA will undoubtedly seem daunting when scanning the five syllabi in front of you, but slicing the bigger picture into manageable incriments will prove that it really is possible. For example, pretend you have a midterm at the end of each week and study accordingly, and by the time the real one rolls its slimy self around the corner, you will squash all that old news like a bug. Or if your aim is to break a deeply-engrained habit, invest in a calendar that you can victoriously “X” off each day. You can make this fun–my calendar has basset hounds on every page.
3. Find a buddy. Someone who shares your goal can hold you accountable for it, and you know what they say: “A pain shared is a pain halved.” No, I actually made that phrase up…but think about it, you can have someone to vent about your struggles to who actually means it when she says, “I know how you feel.”
4. Don’t worry about slip-ups. A bad day, a bad week–even a bad few months–can be reversed when you realize the necessity of Tip #5!
5. Don’t let the end of the year mean the end of the resolution! You have your whole life to live, and as long as your resolution isn’t “Make a hundred enemies”, you will probably benefit from transitioning it into a lifelong change. Depending on the goal, you can either amp up or ease off on the rigor, and use each year as a building block for the next.

At first, every day might seem three hundred and sixty-five, but soon enough, the lifestyle changes you implement will become natural. Whenever your goal seems particularly challenging, remember that the ancient Babylonians vowed to repay debts to their gods at the start of each year, and as far as resolutions go, your empire is safe from celestial wrath, and the only person you owe is yourself.