New Year’s Resolutions to Make in College

College is a time for self-improvement and learning. With New Year’s just around the corner, now is a great time to think about what changes you want to make for the coming year. These changes may be in your classes or your personal life. The important thing is that you are finding ways to keep improving yourself and your skillset.

Participate in class more.

Make sure that you are attending all of your classes. Sometimes your professors will include something in the test that was only presented in class and wasn’t in your textbooks. Engage in the discussions during class periods. The more you talk about and teach concepts to your classmates, the better you will understand them as well. Try to explain concepts out loud to help them stick in your memory. When you have them, you should ask questions. Chances are if it is a question you have, other people have it too.

Make a friend in every class.

Making a friend in your classes will help motivate you to be at your classes every week, and it gives you someone to study and do group projects with. Having a friend can make learning more fun. Try to make a friend in each of your classes.

Learn something new every day.

Focusing more on what you are learning rather than what grade you are getting will help you understand what you are learning better and retain it longer. If you commit to learning something new every day, you will learn a lot over the course of the year.

Focus on your mental health.

Make it one of your goals to focus on your mental health and take care of YOU. This could mean having 20 minutes of “me time” every day. During “me time” you are doing something enjoyable or relaxing for yourself. You could paint your nails, write in a journal, meditate, read a good book, watch a video/movie, etc. Focusing on your mental health could also mean seeing a mental health professional or finding stress-relieving strategies to use that help you relax.

Make a goal to sleep regularly.

You could set a regular sleep schedule that works with your classes and social life each semester. Try to plan on going to bed at the same time every night and waking up at the same time every morning. This plan should also give you enough time to get at least seven hours of sleep each day. When you are registering for classes or making plans with friends, keep the schedule you made in mind. It is important to make sure you are getting enough sleep. This will help you in your classes and keep you healthy.

Create a plan for the future.

It is never too early to make a plan for your future. Whether you are a freshman and need a plan for graduating or a senior looking for a job/career. BYU-I has a tool to help plan when you take which classes to keep you on track for graduation. This tool is called I-Plan. If you haven’t already made your I-Plan, now is a good time to get it set up. If you have already made your I-Plan and you are getting close to graduation, it is a good idea to make a plan for your future after college. Do you already have a job lined up? Are you currently applying for jobs. What are your five and ten year plans? Now is a good time to think about this and write down what those plans are. Make it one of your resolutions this year to come up with your plan for the future.

We want you to be successful in all that you do. So make good goals for yourself and do the best that you can. We’re rooting for you!