You Made New Year's Resolutions - Now What?

Whether your New Year’s resolution was to build better study habits and crush your spring exams, to finally go to a meeting for that extracurricular you have been meaning to check out, or if you didn’t make a resolution at all, now is the time to reflect on YOUR start to 2025. Let’s do it together!

Start by Checking in with Yourself - In Writing

If you didn’t write down your New Year’s resolutions, put those commitments on paper. Writing down what you want to focus on this year increases accountability and allows you to easily check in on your progress. And if you didn’t make resolutions, this is a great time to think of some goals for 2025!

Ask Yourself Why, How, and When 

Knowing the why, how, and when is critical for making your resolution a reality. If you want to improve your score on the SAT by 100 points overall in order to make your dream school more realistic, that’s going to take studying prior to your test date. It is all about developing and executing the plan that works for you and gets you where you want to go - and if you need help, ask for it!

You Made Your Resolution, You Put It On Paper, You Made a Plan - The Hardest Parts are Done! What Now?

Easier said than done of course, but committing and laying out the roadmap are the toughest steps. Give yourself a pat on the back! Now you just need to follow your plan, check in with your written commitment at least once a month, and lean on your friends and family (and maybe a TWK tutor!) to get you over the finish line. Those around you can only support you if they know what you need - so talk to them! 

There’s no doubt that you’re going to crush your 2025 resolutions, so you are going to need a bit more homework to keep you busy this year. And that homework is to take time to breathe - those thirty minutes spent reading a book just for fun or the hour spent taking your dog for an extra long walk help prevent burnout. Taking care of yourself should be 2025 resolution #1 (a reminder that we all need sometimes). You’ve got this!

Alex Hensley is a fundraising and advocacy professional living in Washington, DC. She is a 2020 graduate of The Ohio State University.