We all tend to get caught up in resolutions and making promises to ourselves at the start of a new year. The problem that often occurs, however, is that after the first two weeks of a fresh year come and go, resolutions follow suit and we slip back into old habits. 

One of the reasons the vows we make to ourselves do not stick is because they fail to keep our interest. Good goals like working out and eating healthy can become boring after a week or so, or we get too busy to keep our resolutions.

The key to making and actually keeping a new year’s resolution is to make one that will be applicable longer than a few weeks. Another way to keep a goal is to set more short term goals that have potential to complete larger resolutions.

So, setting back-to-school goals is a great way to start the second half of the school year off on the right foot, which will hopefully carry you through until the end of the semester. 

An online article by Lynn Jacobs and Jeremy Hyman said that procrastination is something that nearly every college student can work on and should commit to getting better at in the new year. 

“Inevitably, at some point in the semester — usually right at test time—the procrastinator morphs into the cramster: the student who has only one night to study 15 weeks’ worth of material or to write a 20-page term paper that was assigned eons ago,” Jacobs and Hyman said. 

Before you are five assignments, three lectures and one group project behind, schedule them out in a planner, stay on top of checking it and start working on tasks a little bit at a time before they are due. You will be less stressed and more organized.

Back to working out and eating healthy. If this truly is something you want to improve upon this semester, that is great. However, knowing what is doable or not is what will determine whether you stay working towards your fitness goals. 

Telling yourself you will work out everyday on top of classes and possibly a job is not necessarily realistic. Making plans to go to the Wellness Center three or four times a week in between classes or work can be more manageable, again, set smaller goals first if you want to succeed. 

A tip from another online article by Caroline Shannon Karasik said ideally you should pencil in the times you want to work out as you are making your class schedule. This makes working out just as much a part of your day as going to class is. 

“Take a 10-minute lap around campus to give you a much-needed endorphin rush during long study sessions or try some dorm room exercises,” Shannon-Karasik said.

Sometimes doing small exercises when they fit into your schedule is all you need to do to get in shape and feel a little healthier.

A third resolution that can be especially useful to work on during second semester is saving money.

With spring break right around the corner and a trip to South Padre with your friends sounding better and better every time you walk through slush and snow, tucking away some money here and there can be a big help.

In an online article by Sean Castillo he wrote that it can be challenging to get into the habit of saving money that you were used to spending on eating out with friends and unnecessary shopping sprees.

“Every time you come home and change your clothes throw whatever coins that are in your pockets into that jar,” Castillo said.

While using this method probably will not buy a plane ticket or be enough to book a hotel room, is it a good place to start and can get you in the mindset of setting aside money.

Old habits die hard and making resolutions to fix these habits, and actually sticking with them, can be ever harder. If your goals are realistic and will keep you interested it can be done.