It’s a new year and a new term — and with that comes the chance to start twice anew with your resolutions and set the tone for the rest of the year.@@yay!@@ Whether the focus be academic, career-oriented, organizational or personal, resolutions can be made or broken in these 10 weeks of school.@@dayum!@@ Read on to learn about some of the resources available to students this term to aid in accomplishing these resolutions, plus other suggestions and advice from campus experts.
1) Exercise more
A common resolution for many in the new year: It can be difficult to stick with it as the rainy and cold weather encourages staying in and eating more. “Be trying to create some sort of routine — so find some time that fits your schedule best — and sticking to it,” said Chantelle Russell,@@http://www.uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/Chantelle*Russell@@ assistant fitness director at the Student Recreation Center on her advice to students with this resolution, continuing: “If you miss a day, not feeling like it’s all gone to waste. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.” The rec center offers its facilities every day of the week, and on top of this hosts a number of group P.E. classes, personal and group trainers (for groups of four or more with common goals) and even a few workshops throughout the term (This term will see a “Women on Weights” workshop offered in the first week of February). “You’ve got to keep it fun and interesting — add variety, try new things. It doesn’t always have to be in the cardio room or the weight room,” Russell said.
2) Manage time better
You procrastinate too much. You never feel like you have enough time in the day to get all of your work done. You are at a loss for how to effectively use the blocks of time that you do have between classes and other activities. To help with these kinds of feelings that are common among students, the University Teaching and Learning Center offers drop-in counseling sessions, workshops and classes for students who feel any number of these things. Students can attend drop-in counseling for study skills support Tuesdays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to learn about time management and organizational skills or make appointments with the TLC staff. Also offered to students are one-credit classes to teach some of these skills, such as “Tackling Time,” as well as workshops offered during the term.
3) Find a job or apply for an internship
“The worst thing that can happen for someone who is looking for a job … is that they get frozen in space because they feel like there’s nothing there available for them,” said Deb Chereck,@@http://www.uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/Chereck@@ director at the University Career Center. According to Chereck, the same often goes for internships. She advises taking advantage of the resources around you — friends, family, faculty members, counselors and the Career Center — as well as understanding that the search takes a lot time and effort. “We’ve got people of different experiences in the world of work … who can really help students to frame their argument about why they should be someone that’s looked at seriously for a position,” she said. The Career Center is open for drop-in counseling Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and provides services such as proofreading resumes and cover letters, as well as part-time job and internship resources and advice.
4) Try new things around Eugene
What are you interested in? What’s something that you haven’t done for a long time but would love to be a part of again? What do you have time for outside of school? Write it down and look it up. On top of its numerous restaurants, bars and concert venues, Eugene offers places like: Brushfire Pottery Studio, where customers can come to choose and paint their own pottery any day of the week for as little as $3, and Bounce Gymnastics, which features open gyms in the evening on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with opportunities to practice acrobatics and tumbling (or just get some exercise jumping around on trampolines). Whatever your interests may be, Eugene might have something that caters to it, and trying something a little different from regular routine can be fun, exciting and introduce you to new people.