Written by Brooke Heather
Let’s start on a strong note, you finished 2025 and have launched into a new year! Congratulations on getting through it, whatever antics you had to use to get it done, you did it and that deserves credit. Personally, I just scraped by the year… I had zero structure and really struggled to meet deadlines, understand what my goals were, and the list goes on. The previous year, I had resolutions that satisfied all goal setting areas and I can say that was a much more successful period, however, I had to learn that. So, how can you make realistic study resolutions? Keep reading!
Goal Setting in Uni
If you’ve ever tried goal setting, you might be familiar with the concept of making several goals that strive for improvement in broken down areas. When applying this to Uni, essentially look at goals that will offer a contribution to a bigger picture. Some examples may be:
· Improving understanding of topics – could be achieved by attending more classes (especially for fellow online students) and aiming to ask a question in a class/week.
· Building Engagement – Uni is so much better with friends and when you’re involved! See what clubs, sports, or even programs there are to offer, all of which can be found on your student portal dashboard.
· Skill Based – Workshops! I don’t if you’ve seen, but Charles Sturt University has some crazy good workshops, in fact, I will be completing the Advanced Referencing workshop prior to the semester start date to kick off my study resolutions.
· Reducing Distractions – Making goals to take away distractors or reward yourself with said distractions. My favourite recommendation is setting limits for all distracting apps on your phone with a password a friend sets for you.
· GPS – Utilise the Graduation Planning System and map out your subject selection. Doing this can simplify what your goals are and remind you of what your end goal is.
Creating a Study Regime
This may sound scary but having a simple schedule that has time blocked out for studying is great for developing healthy and consistent study habits. If you find a difficult to stick to a study regime, try making study plans with other people! It’s much harder to skip studying when someone is relying on you to be there too.
Vision Board
Vision boards help to visualise what your goals are for the year and, therefore, sets up the resolutions to accompany achieving your visions. What do you want to see for Uni for 2026? Do you want to read more? Study more? Anything you can think of! It can be a good idea to ask people who know you well too to suggest resolutions for you here.
Remember to be realistic about your goals to avoid disappointment. Aim for challenging yet achievable goals that will not only reduce your stress but also improve your Uni capacity. Every year is a new year and an opportunity to grow.
Charlie blog is a SSAF funded initiative.
