Every January, people always promise themselves that they will be a better person in the upcoming year. They often vow to go to the gym everyday, to eat healthier foods or to spend less money. All of these goals sound good in theory but are rarely successfully executed. Instead of assigning yourself impractical projects, try these 5 attainable new year’s resolutions.

Before writing your resolutions, there are two things you should keep in mind. First, give yourself a time limit for each goal. When drafting your ideas, try to decide whether you want it to be a short or long term goal. Giving yourself a time frame will make your resolutions seem more attainable and help keep you on track.

You should start your list with something easy. If you are planning to take a direction with goals that fall under the short term category, like organizing your bookshelf or getting your learner’s permit, try to start your list with a task that you know you can easily accomplish. This way, once you get the first resolution out of the way, the rest will start to feel easy. With these two things in mind, you can begin thinking of smart and attainable goals for 2020. Here are 5 ideas:

• Be more creative (and share your talent)

This year, immerse yourself in the arts. This could mean going to more museums or even creating your own art. If you are an artist of any kind, do not be afraid of embracing and showing your art to others. Create an online account where you can share your art. Whether it be Youtube, Instagram or TikTok, find a way to embrace your creativity and let others acknowledge it too.

“[Being creative] is something that allows you to be social and relieves stress and sort of gets you to express yourself in ways that you might not think of otherwise,” WCHS guidance counselor Tiffany Kaufman said.

• Put less stress on yourself

This one is definitely easier said than done, but it is highly important to keep in mind. A good way to accomplish this is by bullet journaling or organizing your thoughts in a journal or any piece of paper. When your mind is racing and it feels like you have no time to get things done, list out everything that is bothering you and prioritize. Another way to go about this in the new year is when deciding what classes to take. Don’t feel the need to take an AP class just for the sake of taking an AP class. Instead, choose classes that you can enjoy and challenge you, but not to the extent where one class consumes your whole year. 

“Getting out of your comfort zone seems like it might be stressful, but actually is going to give you that rush of trying something new and then helps with confidence and the next time something new comes [you realize] ‘Oh I can do this,’” Kaufman said.

• Be more social 

Organize more events for you and your friends. It can be difficult to plan things with friends during the school week with extracurriculars and homework, so try to incorporate some fun activities for the weekend. The options are endless, you could go shopping, watch a movie or play mini-golf. If you don’t want to break the bank, hanging out at a friend’s house is always a fun time. Whether it is lowkey or not, find some time to spend time with friends and socialize.

“I’m gonna say put the phone down a lot,” Kaufman said. “Because that face-to-face, not looking at what people are saying in text — but actually the emotion behind it, the facial expressions behind it and actually communicating [in person], not just back and forth [online] — is important to be social.”

• Keep yourself up to date with current events and politics

Try to stay woke in 2020. Although not all of us will be able to vote this year, it is important for everyone to always have a good understanding of what is happening in the world. Start reading newspapers in the morning (The Observer included!) Watch the news and political debates. Go to protests. Do anything you can to make yourself more politically aware. 

“Have conversations at home,” Kaufman said, recommending students bring up current events at the dinner table. “Your parents are probably looking at things and watching things and have different past experiences. [You should discuss] what it means to them for [current events] to be going on versus what it means to you and… your future.” 

• Take care of your health (both physical and mental)

You can get this one done by taking a social media break, finding a skincare routine that works for you, being more open about your feelings or even joining groups that focus on mental health, like the Thrive Club. Try to find a healthier way to express your feelings. Avoid posting teary-eyed pictures on social media and don’t wait until your emotions build up before talking through it with someone close. If your goals line up with the physical aspects of health, journal the foods you eat in a day or come up with a workout plan you can easily do at home.

“I think being more creative and trying to eliminate stress really help to be good to yourself,” Kaufman said. “And if you are, then the other [resolutions] can happen too.” 

The next step in the resolution process is to go out and execute your ideas. Coming up with timely, attainable and not-cliché goals can be tricky, but following up on them is even harder. Challenge yourself to last the whole year and keep your resolutions.