New Year's Resolutions For Postgraduate Students

8 New Year Resolutions For Postgraduate Students

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It’s that time of year again and no doubt many of you have made a list of New Year Resolutions you’ll love to complete in 2023.

New Year resolutions are an opportunity to create a change and self-improvement, most people want to achieve a goal or break bad habits, such as gaining admission to a postgraduate course, saving money, or starting a healthier diet.

But we all know how difficult sticking to the New Year resolution can be. A US-based study conducted by U.S. News & World Report concluded that 80% of New Year resolutions failed before February – this is no different for Brits. So how do we keep our New Year resolution?

Here are 9 fantastic goals to target this year.

Start a new hobby

Everyone is different, but what we all have in common is sharing hobbies. Starting a new hobby can be a good way to expand your current network of friends and help build new skills. Do you feel like joining a sports club and meeting other students? Or how about creating a club to find like-minded students and share your interests?

By starting new hobbies, research shows an increase in improving mental health – you could kill two birds with one stone.

There is no better time than now to start a new hobby you’ve always dreamed of doing. So why not start now?

Learn new skills

There are many opportunities to help broaden your horizons. It doesn’t have to be educational, it’s part of a bigger picture such as something you enjoy or an area you’ve always wanted to do. Gaining new skills can help prepare you for your future, an exciting opportunity, or help build new hobbies.

Research shows learning a new skill can help make you happier and help build your self-confidence. Adding new skills and new hobbies to your resume shows promise to employers who seek people with many different skill sets to help create a positive impact on the company.

So have fun and learn at the same time. New Year, New You!

Saving money

As a [postgraduate] student, you may be struggling for money. Christmas is the most expensive month of the year for most, and it can be easy to overindulge in the festivities – buying presents, attending parties, and buying festive meals.

With the high cost of living impacting everyday items, it feels harder to save but you can help control your finances with a new skill in budgeting.

With your newly found skill, you can save money in areas you’ve overspent and have more money left over than you previously had.

Do you want a challenge? Create a period date and set a strict budget to not purchase anything outside of absolute necessities.

Improve your health

You may have heard friends or colleagues over the years expressing their desire to attend the gym in the new year. However, they typically quit within the first or second week of the year – some without stepping one foot into a gym.

Self-improvement is probably the most picked New Year resolution across the Western world and it’s one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy. Having a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean losing weight, but focusing on routines to make you feel better inside and outside.

Eating healthy can be difficult as a student during an economic crisis however you can set out a meal plan to help keep track, such as meal prepping for a few days/the week.

Don’t have time to attend the gym? Consider being more active by walking or cycling rather than driving or taking the bus. Exercise is equally as important to your mental health as other skills and hobbies. Consider consuming less alcohol and spending less time on social media – you’ll see a grand difference.

Stop procrastinating

Most people set unrealistic or difficult New Year resolutions and that’s why most people quit by February. Instead, create little steps. A small change in a bad habit is still a positive change. Procrastinating is one of those bad habits – it forces you to leave important tasks til the last minute or generally prevents a person from being productive.

Procrastinators typically have higher stress levels and lower well-being but it’s easier said than done to stop procrastinating. To better yourself, set smaller goals/tasks, and organise them to the time best suited to you. Having a better understanding of your behaviour can help improve your mental health which will in turn help your productivity.

Prepare for your future

Universities can be a challenging time in your life, especially if you’re undertaking a postgraduate course. You could be stressed about the difficulty of the degree, have troubles with finances, or feel lost and have no route out.

Most students struggle with Imposter Syndrome, so don’t get yourself down about it. Setting some resolutions can help achieve your long-term goals. Creating a to-do list with smaller tasks can help you feel more confident and will help you slowly achieve your bigger goal.

Take the hard-working small steps now to reap the ever-lasting rewards later.

Improve your network

University can be daunting and as an adult, making friends can be difficult. But there are a few options to help you improve your network of friends and acquaintances such as joining (or starting) a club or society, living with students with a similar degree to you, and attending various networking events.

Keep yourself open to meeting new people wherever you are.

Be sustainable

All your New Year resolutions don’t have to be self-improvement – you can make external positive changes. We’re not telling you to make huge eco changes, but every little helps to a more eco-friendly world. You can help by:

Reducing food waste
Reduce energy consumption
Opt for public transport rather than driving a car or using an Uber
Shop locally and support smaller businesses

You can do your part to help save the planet. Opt to be more sustainable in 2023.

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