A new semester, just like a New Year, is a new beginning, a fresh start. But… how do you keep your semester resolutions from turning into that dusty treadmill or that underused gym membership? The trick is to have clear goals, get ahead and stay motivated.

SMART goals

Goals like, get all A's this semester or study "more" are surefire ways to screw up your new beginning semester vibes. Why? They're too broad! HOW are you going to get those A's? What does studying "more" even mean? It's more effective to say something like, I'm going to study for X amount of hours or make a study guide X days before the test. Just be careful not to get too intense planning your semester. It's easy to say you'll study for eight hours a day while chilling during the summer and quite another thing to do it during in September when it's hot and you're tired from being in class and all you want is ice cream and a nap. In other words, aim for SMART goals.

Get ahead

It's easy to blow off studying when the semester first starts. It's tempting to take advantage of your free time and relax before the workload starts to get heavy but future you will thank you if you start immediately. And by immediately I mean the first day, right after you get the syllabus. Why so early? Because right now you are, hopefully, well rested from the summer and have the energy to pump out some work. As the semester goes on and the sleep deprivation and stress start to kick in, you'll want, no NEED, time to chill for a second and recharge. Working ahead gives you a buffer against the mid-semester slump that is bound to happen. School is hard so you might as well plan ahead and get as much done as you can so when you need a break, you can take it without feeling guilty or fearing you'll fall behind.

Have fun

The best way to keep yourself motivated to stick with your goals is to first and foremost ENJOY what you are doing. Now is the time to dig deep and remember why you chose this major. I dare you to have fun while preparing for your biology/orgo/computer science/music theory/dance/whatever assignment. It will make a world of difference. Or if that doesn't excite you, at the very least daydream a little about the dream job this degree will get you. Whatever passion you have for what you are studying, find it, live it, breath it, light it on fire!