How to Create and Achieve your New Year Goals
Date 21 December 2023
Many of us see the start of a new year as a time to create a set of new personal goals. Current student Madison offers her advice on how to ensure these goals are both manageable and achievable.
At the beginning of every year, I seem to choose New Year’s resolutions that start off well for the first two or three weeks of January, then slowly fizzle out like the New Year fireworks.
Rather than having various goals, with no time limit, I would advise that you simplify them by asking yourself some questions.
How I set goals: questions I ask myself
- Is this goal realistic?
- How much time per day, week, or month do I need to put aside for this goal?
- Can I keep myself accountable?
- What are the obstacles to achieving my goals?
- What benefit will I get from them?
My goals for 2024
Wake up at 6am on weekdays
The idea is to develop a morning routine that I stick to, whether I write a schedule, or make a simple to-do list:
- Put my alarm in a different room (so I have to get out of bed!)
- Make my bed
- Brush my teeth
- Wash my face
According to the Sleep Foundation, waking up two hours before you usually do can improve your mental health, as well as your performance throughout the day.
Go to the gym three times a week
Healthline lists multiple health benefits to exercise, including improving your mood and weight management. It’s also good for your bone density. Laziness or fear can often be obstacles to working out, so perhaps have a friend as a gym buddy so you don’t have to do it alone. Or you could find a workout programme that suits your needs and make a playlist of your favourite songs. Alternatively, you may not have gym membership, so you could buy weights online or run in your local park.
Start meal prepping
Making your meals in advance can save you time and energy, as well as money. I use Pinterest to find to my favourite recipes and make enough to last me a whole week. Instead of buying food from the grocery store every day or several times a week, I’m going to try to bulk buy from a large supermarket to save money in the long run.
To stay on top of your goals, always make sure you have a plan and take things slowly.
Happy New Year!
Madison is a first-year student on the Engineering BSc (Hons) course at the University of Northampton