New Year's Resolutions That Are Perfect for High School Students

New Year’s Resolutions That Are Perfect

for High School Students

 

resolutions for high school students

 

2018 is here, which means it’s the perfect time to set some brand new goals. You’ve probably heard that saying, “New year, new me!” but that’s not our style. Instead of trying to revamp your entire life, we’re here to help you set smart, realistic goals that can set you up for success and help instill good habits. When it comes to resolutions for high school students, it’s all about using a S.M.A.R.T. approach.

Specific: What exactly do you want to accomplish? Instead of setting a goal to “do better at school,” set specific grade goals for each course.

Measurable: How will you know if you achieved your goal? Set specific standards, such as getting a 90% or higher in a class or studying for X amount of time each night.

Achievable: Be honest with yourself. Is this a goal that you truly think you can meet? It’s good to push yourself, but it’s not good to set a goal that is outlandish.

Relevant: Set a goal that is important for your life right now. For example, your goals as a high school student will likely be academic-focused and help prepare you for college.

Time-bound: Your goal should have checkpoints or deadlines. Decide what you want to have accomplished six weeks from now and six months from now. Having small goals within a larger goal will keep you motivated!

With these S.M.A.R.T. concepts in mind, you can start forming your goals for 2018! To help get you started, we’re listing some common goals and jumping off points for resolutions for high school students. Get creative, and set goals that will help YOU! Take our ideas, think about them in the context of your own life, and make them specific.

.

GET ORGANIZED!

  • Do a deep clean of your locker, desk, book bag, workspace at home, and so on. Recycle old papers and notebooks that you no longer need. Minimize the clutter so that important things are less likely to get lost in the shuffle.
  • Get school supplies that will help you stay organized for this semester’s classes. Get a special notebook, binder, or folder for each class so that things don’t get mixed up.
  • Going forward, set aside time each week to organize your things so that you STAY organized!
  • Parents: check out this blog about helping your student get organized!

.

Stop procrastinating and improve your time management.

  • Spend ten minutes or so every single day making a to-do list, and hold yourself to it! List all of your homework, projects, studying, practices, etc. and cross them off as you complete them. Not only will this help you remember everything, you’ll also be able to easily prioritize tasks AND get a sense of accomplishment as you cross things off your list.
  • USE YOUR PLANNER. If you aren’t used to jotting things down in a planner or calendar, this will take a bit of practice. Trust us, it’s worth it. Get in the habit of writing down all projects, deadlines, exam dates, and other pertinent information as you receive it. Look at your planner at the start of each week so you know what is coming up!
  • Set aside a bit of time every day to take inventory of each and every class you’re taking. Even if you don’t have any homework in a certain course, take five minutes to look over your syllabus and see what is coming up.
  • Use our Printable Project Planner to plan out your big class projects and stay on top of everything you need to do!
  • Parents: check out our blog all about helping your teen kick the procrastinating habit!

.

 Try something new and get out of your comfort zone.

  • Once a month, do something you’ve never done before. That could be taking a new workout class, volunteering, going to a teacher’s office hours, whatever! Challenge yourself to try something brand new every month this year. You might stumble into something you love!
  • Mix up your daily routine and try to create new, healthy habits. Drink a glass of water during every class. Read a book before bed instead of scrolling through Instagram. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy – just something small that could improve your life!
  • Explore an interest that you haven’t explored before. If anything seems remotely cool, look into it. If something piques your curiosity, learn more about it!

.

Save money.

  • This can be hard in high school, but it doesn’t have to be. Make your goal something that is realistic for you! Skip Starbucks and set aside $10 a week. Take 10% of each paycheck and put it into your savings account. You don’t need to make a fortune, just put aside a little something regularly and it will add up.
  • Hold yourself to a very specific number or percentage that you’re setting aside. Act like it’s a bill that you must pay, and don’t touch that money. Later, if an emergency arises, you’ll have a little nest egg to ease the burden.
  • Check out this blog, all about ways to make and save a little extra money while you’re in school!