How Lancs students can get back on track with their New Year’s resolutions

Brb, I’m just rewarding myself for going to my class with a Greggs x

Deadline season is fast approaching and Christmas chocolate is long gone. As the library toilet lines get longer and our rooms become more of a dumping ground than a study area, the one thing we’re keeping deep in our minds is those pesky New Year’s resolutions.

We get it, you had all these big plans about how to stop all the procrastination and live a healthier lifestyle, and now you’re stuck in a coma after your January exam, lying in bed watching Love Island and eating a Sausages in a dressing gown. Fear not, however, as we’ve compiled a list of everything Lancs students can do to get their New Year’s resolutions back on track.

Choose a destination

Let’s face it, we all went into 2023 with big ideas—most of which didn’t last a day. Do you plan on giving up Sultans, going to the library every day, going to the gym and doing all your 9am? We know it’s never going to happen, but we’re making these plans anyway.

Try to pick one thing that you know is achievable (so by all means stick with the Sultans trips) and still lets you get the most out of your varsity experience. It’s a lot easier to complete a task when there aren’t fifty things left to do.

Walk down the Spine every morning

Your workout plans for this year are probably a little bigger than a 10-minute walk at 8 a.m. You may have already bought a gym membership and your workout clothes are folded in the back of your closet. But we all have those days when a full workout is just too much, and a quick walk down the spine before starting work will leave you feeling more motivated to start the day. If that’s not enough of an incentive, why not grab a Costa coffee along the way?

Set your alarm to go off an hour before you plan to get up

We’re not talking about the alarm clocks that you set off every five minutes to keep you from falling asleep (although they can be a lifesaver for those dreaded morning seminars). Just setting an alarm an hour before you wake up can be a big help, because even if you fall asleep between alarms, you’re already more awake than if you opened your eyes just before getting up and going.

Clean your bathroom

It may sound arbitrary, but by hitting the toilet with some bleach and quickly wiping those suspicious dark spots with mold spray, you feel like you’re already one step closer to actually doing everything on your to-do list that day take care of.

Make your cheat day productive

Sometimes cheat days seem counterintuitive, we’ve all found ourselves saying “I’ll start working out tomorrow” every day for a month while we were looking for the custard creams. Something as simple as baking a cake or decorating your room on the weekends will make your rest days seem less like procrastination and more like organization. Even if you indulge yourself, that means using up all the Kaspas vouchers from Fresher’s Fair, but it’s still something that makes you feel like you’ve accomplished a task (in this case, trying all the desserts until you no longer have vouchers).

Engage your friends to hold each other accountable

We all need that one friend who keeps everyone in the library focused. You’ve been chatting for an hour and emptied the hot chocolate from the soda machine, but once a friend decides to start the task you’ve all been ignoring, everyone has no choice but to follow suit.

meal plan!

Meal planning is the savior of every student’s bank account, and you can’t tell me any other way. Are you trying to cut costs? meal plan. Would you like to eat healthier? meal plan. There really is nothing better to fulfill all food-related resolutions. Plus, there’s nothing that makes you feel more like an adult than making pot noodles or beans on toast.

Do your workk in Williamson Park (or anywhere outside)

I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about working at Williamson Park that screams “main character”. When you proactively stock up on everything you need, charge all your devices, and then leave the comfort of your room to work, it just feels like you have your whole life together.

Make some short-term resolutions

If you still can’t decide which resolutions to eliminate from your plans, why not try picking a new resolution each month? Perhaps you could try stepping off at the sports center for the extra walk to your accommodation for a month and cutting back on Costa visits for the next month. You may want to move on with your goals if they don’t seem so daunting.

Don’t be too hard on yourself

It’s important to remember that no one keeps up with all their resolutions 365 days a year. If you have a day where you just want to watch Love Island while eating pod pasta, that’s totally fine! Just make sure you’re doing everything you can to achieve your goals.

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