New Month Resolutions
If you’re anything like me, every year you make some New Year’s Resolutions and think, “This year, it’ll be different. I’ll write them down this time, so I HAVE to follow them.” About a week later it’s all out the window and you’ve fallen back into the same old habits you’ve been maintaining for years. So here we are, about 3 months into the new year, and that’s exactly what has happened, it’s all out the window and I’m back into my old habits. What can we do about this?
If you think about it, every month is technicallya new beginning, just like a new year. It’s just the first part of the date that changes as opposed to the last. So, here’s my thought: New Month Resolutions. The same concept but start at the beginning of the month. Then if those fail, pick some more up the next month. Now we have 12 opportunities to make these resolutions and changes in our lifestyles instead of feeling like it’s this one, looming opportunity in January. The key (so I’ve been told) to sticking to resolutions is to actually write them down to hold yourself accountable. To help come up with some ideas, I figure I’ll list some of my own to help others generate some plans for themselves. Plus, I’ll really feel obligated to follow them now.
#1 Exercise
I figure we’ll start out with the most basic one, the one most people put first on the list. Working out is the easiest, yet hardest change to make. It can be anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour or more, yet it’s still difficult to drag yourself to the gym and do it. The goal for this month is to just hit that 20-minute mark.
#2 Read More
Another attainable one. You know it’s bad when I, an English major, struggle to read the basic books for class (but of course I do… if any professors happen to be reading). Something that I want to do now is to delegate time to sit down and read, whether it be for class or for fun.
#3 Save Money
Of course, as college students this is a common struggle for a lot of us. Never mind the fact that we’re already spending thousands of dollars just to be at school, but there’s many expenses that we hit in our daily lives. For me, it’s coffee and food. That being said, I could easily make coffee in my room and save myself the money that I spend at Dunkin’ so many times a week. Cutting back on buying things that could easily be made at home or grabbed from the dining hall adds up quickly.
#4 Write more
Writing has always been very therapeutic for me, but again finding the time is so hard. My plan here is to write a little bit every day, even if it’s literally just a list. Getting the pen to paper, no matter for how long is good both for me mentally and for my writing.
#5 Take more pictures
This is probably the easiest thing to try to improve on. I’m a very nostalgic person by nature, but I’m so bad at taking pictures to look back on. Taking pictures is a great way to preserve memories and it’s probably the thing that I’m most focused on improving on.
Obviously, we can make changes to ourselves on any given day, but it’s really harder than it sounds. There’s so much pressure surrounding New Year Resolutions because they only come around once a year, so if you fail, you fail for the entire year. I’ve found setting goals for each month to be much more effective, and it’s less pressure if you’re unable to succeed on one (or more), because in just 30 days you get another chance. I hope what I’m trying for myself gives some inspiration for you guys, good luck out there!