9 Healthy Habits For The New Year

Happy New Year! New Year’s is a time of celebrating and reflecting on the previous year and setting intentions for the year ahead. Many use the occasion as a time to set new goals, which, at this time of the year, are often called New Year’s Resolutions.

Success is often the main benefit that people are seeking when they make a resolution — for example, success in establishing a regular exercise program, success in developing personal relationships, success in their career path or success as a student.

Making a new year’s resolution is easier than carrying it out. Many wonder how to succeed in their resolutions and ways to make the pursuit easier. If you make your new year’s resolutions in line with your long-term goals, long-term success is within reach. But how do you make your goals easier and more attainable? What we’ve found out is that habits are the magic ingredient of goal-oriented success!

Daily Habits To Improve Your Life

Research shows that habits can help you achieve your goals and help you reach success, whether you’re a student or pursuing your career. Goals require willpower to pursue, but when willpower is low, habits — good or bad — determine how well you’ll end up pursuing your goals. Healthy habits help you achieve goals; unhealthy habits derail your intentional efforts.

This article looks at nine healthy habits that can help you achieve your long- and short-term goals — and your new year’s resolutions — starting with student success.

And experiencing success as a student goes beyond just acing your classes. Success extends past the classroom, out to your future workplace, and into your personal spaces — so you can enjoy every aspect of your life.

Whether you’re already a student or thinking of becoming one, forming these 9 healthy habits and practicing them daily can revitalize your mind and body so you can transform your life and career.

9 Healthy Habits For Students

infographic depicting nine complementary healthy habits including cutting down on fast food and sugar, choosing fruits and vegetables more, drinking more water, getting enough exercise, practicing self care, working on your relationships, getting up at the same time every day, and aiming for a better career.

Student success and career success are big goals. If you’re going to build daily habits, healthy habits will put you in the best position to succeed. There’s a lot of connection between a healthy body and a healthy mind, so healthy habits should cover ways to improve your body and your mind. The important thing is that they all work together to contribute to good health — which is vital to student and career success.

1. Healthy Diet Habits: Cut Down on Fast Food

Fast food is made tastier through some unhealthy ingredients. MSG, excessive sodium, corn syrups, and more can make food delicious but unhealthy. A good daily habit is to avoid fast food whenever possible!

Taking time to do meal preparation for the week can really help you avoid leaning on fast food — especially when you’re working late at the office or spending the evening studying at home. Try batch cooking on weekends and refrigerate or freeze portions of balanced, organic meals.

2. Healthy Diet Habits: Cut Down On Sugar

Sugar has a spike-and-crash effect on your energy levels. But the effects of sugar are more lasting than just your energy levels. Too much sugar can affect your focus, stress levels, and mood , so, it’s important to be mindful of how much sugar you’re consuming. Cutting down on sugar is easier if you approach it as a balancing act.

Cut sugar from your morning coffee.
Skip dessert when you can.
Choose organic milk or juice (not from concentrate) instead of soda pop for natural sugars.
Choose water more often than sweet drinks
Check ingredient labels for sugar content to budget your sugar intake for the day.

3. Healthy Diet Habits: Choose Fruits & Vegetables More Often

Fruits & vegetables have the vitamins, minerals, and nutritional value you need; you shouldn’t underestimate them. Many of the healthiest dietary trends and best practices put fruits and vegetables first. The best part is raw fruits and vegetables make the perfect snack while you’re on the job at a new career you love or attending classes, so you end up there.

4. Healthy Diet Habits: Drink More Water

man in the kitchen confidently looking at camera with a glass of water.

Drinking more water has significant benefits. According to doctors, water:

balances bodily fluids
makes you feel full and prevents overeating
helps to energize muscles
takes pressure off your kidneys
& more

We’re lucky that here in Canada, drinkable water is widely available. Whether you’re about to attend class or taking a break at work, drinking more water can refresh your body effectively.

5. Get Enough Exercise

woman smiling while wearing an exercise shirt and holding a water bottle

Exercise is the steadiest constant in health regimes the world over. If you’re after health, diet is critical, but how you spend that energy greatly influences your health. You have to exercise often to create a habit, but this habit leads to health and wellness beyond just physical health.

Mental health is intertwined with physical health, and getting enough exercise can help to balance both. Exercise doesn’t have to be as formal as joining a gym or spin class — you can work physical activity into your daily life in fun, informal ways too:

Take the stairs instead of elevators whenever you can.
Park your car further away from stores or places you visit — so you can walk farther.
Tidy up your home several times a day and undertake physically active chores more often.
Adopt a dog and start walking them every day.
Hike with your friends as a social activity.

If you do want to ‘hit the gym’ or other more formal activity, be sure to schedule time for it in the same way that you schedule time for your studies or work.

6. Get Up At The Same Time Every Day

woman waking up fresh for work and happy

Getting up at the same time every day can help stave off depression and anxiety, key components of the post-holiday blues so many face this time of year. Although you may be tempted to sleep in every chance you get, your body and mind will thank you for staying close to your regular wake-up time for work or classes. Sleep schedules are something to consider before you turn off your work or school alarms.

7. Practice Self Care

Whether it’s a spa day, time spent hiking or doing winter sports, or curling up with a good book — self-care keeps you rested and refreshed between work or school days. Self-care can be what you make it, and as long as what you call self-care isn't unhealthy in and of itself, it can be a healthy habit for daily life.

If your definition of self-care includes drinking lots of alcohol or relying on fast food to make yourself feel better, you might need new self-care methods. Popular self-care methods include:

spa days
bathing
grooming
napping
journalling
taking walks & enjoying nature

These methods are wholesome ways to relax and recharge after a hard day at the workplace or keeping up with your studies.

8. Work On Your Relationships

A good support network can raise your morale when the going gets tough. Having positive people in your life is so crucial to keeping you in the mental and emotional state you need to succeed.

Gratitude can be a healthy habit you form. Check out the messages of gratitude on our social media’s Thanksgiving week gratitude posts — and see how we rely on our parents, siblings, spouses, children, grandchildren, friends, and neighbours. Whether you’re a student with us or already succeeding in your career, working on your relationships strengthens that support network.

9. Aim For A Better Career

Are you happy where you are working right now: Is there room for advancement? Do you feel that your work is valued? Are you earning a decent salary? If you feel you are in a dead-end job, this will affect your health and well-being. A new year is the perfect time to pursue a career that makes the most of your talents and potential.

College is the best place to gain the in-demand, specialized skills that employers are looking for.

If you’re already a student, focus on your studies, and think about what you’ll need to practice every day to succeed in your new career. Success in your industry requires good, professional habits just as much as a diploma from a reputable college.

New Year, New Resolutions, New Career

“This year, I’m going to finally start college so that I can pursue a career that _____________ (fill in the blank). This year, I’m going to spend more time focusing on my studies so that I can pursue a career that ________________ (fill in the blank).”

Sound familiar? Your chances of succeeding as a student and in a new career will increase significantly if you form healthy habits providing the foundation and support you will need throughout your life as a student or professional. At Sundance College, you can choose from a variety of programs to meet your individual needs and interests: business and legal, health and social services, and tech career paths. Apply online, or take our career quiz to see where your strengths lie, so you can put your healthy habits to work.