Keeping Up With New Year's Resolutions in Grad School

Serina Taluja

First and foremost, I’m here to tell you that despite what a lot of people say, New Year’s resolutions are not inherently dumb. The change of the year - the revolution of the planet around the sun another full time - has been a celebrated time for new beginnings and change throughout human history. It’s totally natural to look at the change of the date we write on our calendars, planners, papers, class schedulers, and decide that with the change in year, we want to see some good, positive changes in ourselves.

However- it can be hard to stick to those expectations we set forth for ourselves at the start of a new year, especially in grad school. Expectations of you are constantly shifting within your research, teaching, and mentoring, so sticking to something constant, especially something new, can be tricky. So, while people tend to believe “New Year’s resolutions never work”, there are definitely ways to make sure those big dreams for the new-year, new-you don’t dissipate throughout the year!


Make sure it’s something you want to do, for you
Making positive, healthy, lasting changes to your lifestyle can not only make you a healthier person physically, but it can also be really good for your mental health! It gives you a sense that you can seize the day and make the life for yourself that you’ve always wanted. This is all to say that it puts you in control and reminds you that you are the writer of your own story. It brings with it a sense of ownership of yourself, your actions, and your emotions.

With all of that in mind, it is important that the goals you set for yourself reflect the person YOU want to become because YOU want to, not because you believe someone else wants you to or due to others’ expectations of you. If you decide to make a good change this year and it’s something that you’ve independently resolved will be fun or good or better, it’s way more likely to be easy to transition into and stick to! If you’re doing something new and you’re not all in it, whether it’s because you don’t want to do it, or it’s something you’re doing because someone else is doing it or told you to do it, it’ll probably be a lot harder to get started and even harder to turn into a lasting change.


Set realistic goals for yourself
Let’s say you’ve decided to be a morning-workout person this year. Let’s also say that working out has never been something consistent that you’ve done. When you start this change, you may suddenly wake up at 5am instead of 8am, trying to get after it at the gym for two full hours then showering and going about your days like you usually do. You’ll quickly start to get tired, and potentially lose interest in this change since it’s such a huge difference in the lifestyle that you were used to before.
This change is still so doable - but just in baby steps! This is true for lots of big New Year’s resolutions. Maybe you start by getting up at 7am and going for a walk for a week. Then, you get up a little earlier and get to the gym. You could then move it up a little more. say 2-3 days a week, so you have some days that are longer workouts and some days that are shorter. This can be applied to any resolution you make. One of my favorite quotes about productivity is “Anything worth doing is worth half-doing”. So, if you want to learn a new language this year, start with 5 minutes a day! If you want to start spending more time with your family, call your mom during your lunch break! There are lots of ways to incorporate your changes in small ways that will have big effects on your life.


Find a friend and hold each other accountable
Now, I know we already talked about making resolutions for you - which is still absolutely the most important! However, it can also really help to have someone who is a sounding board and an accountability measure to go on this resolution journey with you. It doesn’t even have to be someone with the same resolution; if the two of you can talk about your goals and build each other up about them, this can be a huge help to sticking to those resolutions! Maybe you’re close to graduating and you want to write a little bit of your thesis/dissertation
every day, and maybe your friend in your research group wants to spend time outside more this year! If you can talk about what you’re each doing, even once a week, and they encourage you to keep writing right when you get to the office, and you encourage them to keep exploring local parks on the weekend, this can really help both of you to stay on track, motivated, and passionate about your goals.