The first few weeks of every new year are filled with packed gyms, random acts of kindness, healthier eaters, and various other acts of self betterment. In a perfect world, we'd all be able to keep our New Year's Resolutions, but come February 1st, the gyms have cleared out, people are grumpy, those healthy eaters opt for chocolate cake instead of broccoli, and we all just give up on what we wanted to change about ourselves. It's just a natural pattern that happens every year.

And that's okay. You don't need the New Year to be the only time to be motivated to change something about yourself. But as a college student, the new semester is the best (and sometimes only) time to make a lasting change about your study habits.

Here's some things we should all try to do this semester:

GO TO CLASS! I don't care that it's -48 degrees out there, bundle up and head to class!

Actually take notes. I'm guilty of this just as much as the next person. Sitting in class and you copy down the info from the first slide, but then "oh, the person in front of me is watching cat videos! I'm just going to sit behind them and watch too" then next thing you know, class is over and all you have written down is "January 20: Intro to Micro-genetics."

Going off of that, pay attention! You are only in class for max of 6 hours a day, that leaves you with so much time outside of class to check Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tinder, whatever social media you chose. For the short time you are in class, really pay attention.

Make friends with your professors. Especially if it is a large class. They won't know who you are unless you make the effort to get to know them. 

Start studying in advance, not the night before a midterm/final. Procrastination is easy, try something that is more challenging but also more rewarding. Make a timeline for yourself if that helps, listing what chapters you should study so that you aren't stuck studying 18 chapters in one night. 

Make friends in class. I know it can be hard to make friends in class, especially if it's an 8 am class where no one wants to socialize, but having a friend in class is great for studying and for morale! Plus if you have a unique major, you'll probably have many of the same classes, so if you make a friend in one class, you might have the same friend in other classes!

The second semester of every school year is rough. We get lazy, tired, frustrated, and bored. But to fight all of those things, set some goals and really stick to them!