Hello, fellow godolphin students (and the two complete strangers who are consistently viewing our articles from Austria, we love international support); it’s the worst time of the year again. This view should not surprise you -- after all, I wrote the article about the months which basically just consisted of me insulting January and everyone who liked it. But don’t worry, I won’t put anyone else through the personal hell of my January loathing again -- today is a happy and helpful article! (I know, shocking.)
Have you been struggling to make a New Year’s Resolution that actually seems keepable (I see you, people who promised to learn a new instrument) and more interesting than ‘drink more water’? Well, we are here to help. Here are some easy yet also less obvious resolutions that you can steal. Thank me later.
Start deleting all the emails you don’t need after you’ve read them
. (The environment will thank you, and so will I.T, probably. I for one have about 1000 emails, especially from google classroom aka the bane of my existence, and it makes it a true nightmare to find anything.)
Buy an alarm clock so you don’t have to use your phone as an alarm. Then set your clock seven minutes fast so you stop being late to school.
Every time you buy an item of clothing, get rid of something you never wear.
(1 in 1 out is actually a really good way to stop running out of storage space, and don’t we all have at least five things that haven’t seen the light of day in years? Donate it, ceremoniously burn it, whatever you need to do to exorcise those fashion demons.)
Start a dream journal.
(Is this just a me thing? I’ve had a dream journal since I was eleven - which actually now sounds a bit concerning - but trust me, it’s worth it. The more you write down your dreams, the more you remember them, and then if you do it enough you’ll start lucid dreaming pretty much every night. Fun.)
Go through your instagram and do a de-clutter of all the posts from years ago that you’ve been meaning to delete.
Say no to things you don’t actually want to do.
(Not like homework, disappointingly that's not how it works, but social events that you know you won’t enjoy.)
BUT don’t say no until you’ve planned your outfit.
Okay, this one sounds weird, but let me explain. Sometimes you can’t decide whether you don’t want to go to something because you won’t have fun, or because you’re procrastinating social interaction and don’t want to leave the house. I use a fun trick to distinguish between the two -- plan what outfit you WOULD wear, lay it out, even put it on if you’re feeling crazy, and then see if you want to go. I can’t explain it, but sometimes deciding on a small step jump-starts your body into socialisation mood. It works. I promise.
If you haven’t read a book in ages go buy a REALLY trashy one (I’m talking beach read meets ghostwritten celebrity romance) and read it for 15 minutes every night before you go to bed.
The put down rule.
I saw this on tiktok (red flag, I know) but it basically says ‘if you pick something up, always put it down in the place it’s meant to go.’ Really small, but it can make a massive difference if you’re the kind of person with a chair in your room that always collects a pile of random objects that you couldn’t be bothered to put away and so never will and they will live there for eternity. I have this chair. I know the pain.
Sometimes -- not always, but sometimes -- don’t listen to music on your way home.
I feel like a lot of people are scared of actual meditation because it seems like a chore, so a small way to incorporate literally a single iota of thinking time into your life is to travel home/to school without headphones. It’s weirdly peaceful. I mean, other times I completely get that you have to listen to lana del rey and romanticise the struggles of being a teenager on the tube. But just sometimes.
Always have a snack at break.
I can’t function without eating a belvita. It makes a big difference to the day if you have something to look forward to at that 10.30 bell. Even if it is just a packet of mini cheddars.
Don't be mean to yourself if you don’t keep your resolutions.
I have a wild vendetta against the ‘new year new me’ mindset. No. Time is a construct. Nothing is real. Just exist. That is pretty much all life is.
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