New Year's resolutions that are better than losing weight

Along with organizing which classes you’re going to need to sit in on and beg to be added to and figuring out which fun fact you’re gonna say about yourself on the first day of class, another thing you get to agonize over this week are your New Year’s resolutions.

Now, we at the DTH are tired of publications constantly listing weight loss as a top resolution — not only is it cliché as hell, but it’s also pretty objectifying.

There’s nothing wrong with being healthy, but I think we’d all rather hear some suggestions that involve improving your health and happiness over just your physical appearance.

Be more informed about the world.

There are many ways you can accomplish this — for example, you could set a reading goal and designate a number of books you’ll read by the end of this year (books OUTSIDE of your classes, and give yourself bonus points for each book that deals with a subject you know nothing about).

You could also try a handy little strategy I used in high school; each day, pick a random, unfamiliar word to be your personal “word of the day” and see how many times you can relate that word to your surroundings.

Eventually, you’ll start to appreciate how much of the world you never would have known about if you had never dared to venture.

Be less critical.

Make an effort to be less critical of others. Chances are you’ll feel happier, less stressed and less bogged down by mostly arbitrary limitations.

Throughout this year, whenever a critical thought about someone else enters your head, stop and ask yourself if it’s really true or, better yet, whether they deserve to have you say it to their face.

Be less critical of yourself!

Try not to focus so much on what (you think) is wrong with you – no one’s scrutinizing you to nearly the same level that you do yourself, and if anyone is, they honestly need a life.

If you wouldn’t say it to your BFF, then you absolutely shouldn’t say it about yourself.

Stop procrastinating!

A good way to make your life just a little bit easier is to drop the procrastination propensity, or make an effort at the very least.

If you find yourself with a free evening, do that reading assignment you said you’d do tomorrow right before class.

Sitting in bed watching Netflix? Open up a separate Quizlet tab while you watch.

One trick I like to pull on myself is to pretend the deadline for a major assignment is earlier than it really is, so whenever I’m close to pulling an all-nighter for a paper that I “told” myself is due tomorrow, I actually have an extra day or two to get it done.

Spend more time with your friends!

We’re all at UNC, so there’s more than a few of us who have missed out on fun nights with our squad in order to hunker down and study for our next exam.

But remember, you only have four years on this campus – a relatively short amount of time that you can never get back — and while you’ll obviously be super appreciative of your education and proud of your hard work, the moments you’ll reminisce fondly about from these college years will largely take place outside the classroom.

Got an exam Monday that you’ve studied all month for and everyone’s going to He’s Not on Friday night? Go. You won’t regret it.

swerve@dailytarheel.com