What were your New Year’s resolutions this year? Get organized? Lose weight, exercise more, eat healthier, save money, get better grades? Chances are, one of these found its way into your resolutions list, since these are some of the most popular American New Year’s resolutions of all time.  

But as college women, we have different goals and are at different places in our lives. Our lives are filled with classes, internships, careers, extracurriculars, friends, and Facebook. So this year, why not try tailoring your resolutions around your college lifestyle? Doing so can make resolutions more interesting, realistic, and achievable, and much less of a chore. Here’s a few ideas: 

Take advantage of campus gyms. If you’re already paying thousands in tuition and it includes a membership to the campus gyms, you’ve got easy access to a great resource at no extra cost! 

Less late-night eating and/or drinking. When you’re living in a dorm or apartment with your friends, this is an easy tendency to succumb to but also an easy way to put on the freshmen (or sophomore…or senior) 15. Late night calories should be watched carefully, especially those in alcohol. Binge drinking, besides carrying the obvious risks of being a dangerous and unhealthy habit, also carries a lot of calories.  
Go to more networking events. Growing your personal network in college can potentially help you find jobs or internships later on down the road, so don’t miss an opportunity to make a connection – take advantage of the business, career, and networking events on your campus. 

Go to more lectures. Campuses have tons of interesting, intelligent speakers visiting all the time to lecture on virtually any topic under the sun. Check your university’s campus calendar on the website and find something that interests you or relates to your major, and go. You’ll never regret it, and going to these lectures is an easy way to expand your worldview.  

Spend less time on Facebook. As much as I love Facebook stalking all my friends and writing on walls and looking through photos, the world will not end if you limit yourself to, say, 20 minutes of Facebook time a day. 

Get an extra hour of sleep every night. College students need at least six hours of sleep every night, yet most of us do not get that amount. Getting an extra hour of sleep every night can dramatically increase your alertness and productivity during the day – try it.  

Walk around campus instead of taking the bus. If you have a huge campus like mine, it’s tempting to take the bus to get around but walking to all your classes is an easy way to get some exercise, especially if you don’t have the time to fit regular working out into your schedule.

Read the news everyday. Websites like Google News, the New York Times, and Washingtonpost.com make it easy for you to get all the news in your community, nation, and world within one click of a mouse.

Go to every one of your lectures. We all know how tempting it is to skip class, but it’s a necessary evil. And think how good you’ll feel about it when exams roll around!

Volunteer for twenty hours a semester. Most universities and the surrounding communities offer tons of volunteering and community service opportunities, so it’s usually easy to find something you can do to give back to your community.

Eat breakfast every day. It’s the most important meal of the day! And how else will you stay awake through your 9 am chem lab?