This year, you’ve probably made a few resolutions or goals that you want to achieve.

But, as we're sure you're aware, it can be incredibly hard to sustain our hopeful, healthy habits!

So, let’s look at some of the most common resolutions made, and how you can keep up with what you want to achieve in 2023…

Fitting FITNESS into your life

If it’s exercise that you’re targeting this year, we’ve got a few top tips for you:

• Set yourself some realistic and achievable short-term goals – once you hit these, you should be in the right mindset to go further.
• Start small and work bigger – if you want to run a marathon, why not start with 3 jogs a week? Going too hard in an unsustainable way will likely derail your plans.
• Find the exercises you love doing – you’re more likely to stick at something if you enjoy it! Whether it’s swimming, cycling, or skipping, find what’s best for you.

Making HEALTHY EATING your goal

• DON’T start an unsustainably restrictive diet – start by replacing a few less healthy foods with more nutritious alternatives, and then you can look at tackling another element of your diet (like adding more veggies to your meals).
• Prepare in advance – often we will resort to takeaways and unhealthy options when we haven’t thought ahead to lunch or dinner, so curb this habit and try to plan the bulk of your weekly meals!
• Drink more water – not only does this prevent dehydration and improve concentration, but drinking more water can help your body to break down and process food! Aim to get your eight glasses of water a day.

Starting a NEW HOBBY

• Join a club or a society – it’s always easier to stick to something when it’s scheduled into your week. And do we need to remind you about the incredible societies we have for you to get involved in?
• Visualise the end result – ask yourself, “What do I want to accomplish with this new hobby?”. This way you can target specifically what is most important to you!
• Remove the pressure of perfection – it can be hard but try not to get discouraged! It’s all about trying something you’ve never done before, so chances are you won’t be the best right away. Just try to enjoy the new opportunity.

Getting ORGANISED

• Try to set aside 10 mins a day to be organised – whether this is deleting old emails, tidying up your desk, or collating your university notes, having a small part of your day scheduled in should help you to turn organisation into a healthy habit that sticks.
• Get yourself a diary – start writing in key dates (e.g., essay deadlines, exams, work shifts) and work back from these. Then, you can write in when you need to start the work and have daily reminders of what you need to achieve!
• Try to keep a clean environment – you’d be surprised at how much difference a tidy desk can make! Take a few minutes to declutter your workspace every time you find yourself ready to work.

Giving up UNHEALTHY HABITS

• Try looking into alternatives that might help you to curb the desires to stick with these unhealthy habits. That way, you don’t have to go cold turkey or bust!
• Talk to friends who have given up the same things you’re trying to – sometimes the best advice is one that you hear first-hand and has worked!
• Avoid tempting situations – you’d be surprised how much easier it can be to give something up when you avoid these situations. Try to replace unhealthy behaviours with healthy ones (e.g., starting a new hobby!).

And before we go, we just wanted to say a Happy New Year from all of us here at your Students’ Union!

We hope you’re as excited for what’s to come in 2023 as we are. And if you want to find out more about your SU, you can click here!