Now that 2024 is coming closer, have you already thought about your New Year’s resolutions? In today’s blog, we talk about how you can keep them and, if you haven’t thought about them yet, give you some inspiration!

Coming up with resolutions is generally quite easy, but keeping them is a whole other story. That’s why we’d like to share some tips:

#1 Be realistic

Putting “run a marathon” as your New Year’s resolution when you normally don’t really run will probably set you up for failure because it’s such a big task to achieve. If your resolutions are too broad, you’re more likely to fail in fulfilling them. That’s why it’s a better idea to come up with more specific resolutions like: ‘run at least 2 times a week’ or ‘run 10 kilometres by the end of the year’. The more specific and realistic you are, the more tempted you are to keep your resolutions.

#2 Limit your resolutions

What’s also useful is to limit the amount of resolutions you have for 2024. Think about two or three of the most important resolutions you want to achieve and write them down. If you come up with more, you will probably not keep most of them.

#3 Journal about it or make a moodboard

Journaling about your resolutions and making a moodboard or vision board for them is also a good idea. That way you’ve all your thoughts and motivations written down on paper for you to look back on. Or, you have a cool visual board with pictures to look at everyday to remind yourself of the goals you want to achieve this year. I will definitely make a vision board this year that I can hang above my work place!

#4 Create an action plan

Once you have your resolutions, you can think about what it will take to achieve them. Write these steps down and try to follow them. For instance, if you want to attend 4 lectures each block next year, actually plan out in which weeks you’ll attend the lectures, or if you want to run 10 kilometres by the end of the year, come up with a running plan for each week of the year so you’re more likely to succeed.

#5 Reward yourself

In order to keep yourself motivated, reward yourself throughout the year! You might want to treat yourself to a nice coffee at your favourite café every time you complete a step towards your resolution, or after every resolution you accomplish you could give yourself something that has been on your wishlist for ages. You are deserving of all these things regardless of keeping your resolutions, of course, but this could be a nice way to actually keep them.

#6 Don’t beat yourself up

Last but not least, it’s important to not beat yourself up if you don’t keep your resolutions. We are human and can only do so much. The most important thing is to forgive yourself and to try again!

If you have not yet thought about your resolutions or you don’t know where to start, here are some of ours to give you inspiration!

Nadejda - Take more breaks 

My New Year's resolution for 2024 is to learn to take more breaks. As a master's student, sometimes I feel pressured that I need to perform on a higher level, therefore I tend to overdo myself sometimes which is not good either for my mental health or for my study process. That's why in the next year I will do my best to enjoy some more free time, even if I need to plan it.

Hylke - Be kinder to myself

Next year, I would like to be kinder to myself. I noticed that I often push myself to my limits, especially regarding uni work, and that I can be very nitpicky concerning my work, but also myself. So, I want to try to take it easy on myself and my uni work by consistently reminding myself that everything doesn’t have to be perfect and that I’m doing my best, which is what matters most. With that also comes listening to my body and resting instead of going on and on.

Abibat - Study at the UB instead of home

My new year resolution would be actually going to the UB to study after I made a reservation instead of staying home to study. Although I have a set up at home which allows me to do my work, I find it easier to concentrate at university. I guess everyone studying is a great motivator. Although the UB is often just too cold, I guess it's a sacrifice one has to make! 

Khushboo - Be more mindful

Usually, when I promise myself something, I end up breaking that promise. The same happens with my NY resolutions. I try to work on my willpower every day. In the coming year, I want to be more mindful of my practices and try to build a stronger will. As a full-time student and part-time worker, it becomes a bit difficult to work on myself in the amount of time I get left with. So, I would say, I also want to work on time management in the sense of just making more time for myself and for my mindful practices.

Hopefully this blog has inspired you to come up with some resolutions for 2024! Let us know what your resolutions are in the comments below. We wish you a happy and healthy 2024!