The start of a new decade brings along new year’s resolutions which may include: eating better, being more physically active or getting better grades but let’s be honest with ourselves: old habits die hard.

The beginning of the semester brings along the usual stressors of crashing courses and getting textbook rentals. This added stress can discourage us from moving forward.

However, don’t let that stop you from reaching your new life goals. Many individuals make the common mistake of making it a goal to completely overhaul their lifestyle into a new and better one. This can end up being too much to handle for any one person’s daily balance of academics, social life or work. So don’t be afraid to start small.

Whatever your goal is this semester, just know that goals can be reached when you are feeling your best and most productive self. We recommend the following tips to help you get started.

Maintain a clean environment. Although being environmentally friendly is important, what we’re actually encouraging here is tidiness. Simple tasks such as making your bed first thing in the morning and decluttering your room or dorm adds to productivity.

This will help you stay organized and prepared throughout the semester. When you’re not in a rush to find that one random paper, you give yourself time to be prepared for other tasks.

Manage your time. Make a schedule for yourself. This can be done by simply drawing an outline on a paper or using an app. Set up a schedule that allows you to put aside time for study, work, meals and personal time.

This will prevent you from putting off assignments and putting yourself in a time crunch before a deadline.

Make simple changes in your diet. Some of us may have new goals in achieving a healthier version of ourselves. The step to being more healthy doesn’t mean you have to start eating kale every meal.

Start small by making alternative choices when eating out or at home. Something simple like replacing your soft drink at every meal with water will make a difference. Then move on to food alternatives. For example, if you don’t want to give up that order of orange chicken, then replace the fried rice with steamed vegetables.

Remember that small changes are better than no change.