This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s fall editorial intern Jason Tsoi. Find him on Instagram at @jason.tsoi. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
As we enter the final remaining months of the year, people are already making their New Year’s resolution for self-improvement. But, some people are getting ahead of their resolution by taking on a “winter arc.” What is a winter arc? It’s a three month challenge, where people commit to a specific goal for personal growth. This allows people to achieve their desired goals by the new year and into the summer months.
The three month period normally takes place from the start of October and ends by the end of December. But, don’t let that stop you from starting your journey right now. Starting your winter arc today means that you will be ahead of the curve once the new year arrives. So, how do you plan for a winter arc?
How To Prepare For A Winter Arc
The first part of a winter arc is deciding which goals you want to improve on. Some of the three main goals that people focus on are fitness, mental health and academics. But, you don’t only have to pick one goal. You can choose to work on all three at the same time. If you’re having trouble making a decision, think about your own motivations and the changes that you want to see happen. After reflecting on which goals to pursue, it’s time to make a plan on how to execute your winter arc.
Next, is deciding how you’re going to accomplish your goals. For fitness goals, you should consider thinking about how many times a week you will be going to the gym, as well as which types of exercises you will do. Also, you should think about which foods you will eat during your winter arc. In terms of mental health, you should decide how many hours of sleep you are striving for and what types of meditations you are going to do. And, if you want to work on your academic goals, you should consider what types of grades you want to achieve.
A helpful way to keep track of your goals is with a journal. A journal that I recommend purchasing is a Leuchtturm 1917 Bullet Journal. This journal contains dotted pages that allow you to make your own graphs and charts, which you can use to track your progress. You can use the journal to track your workouts, daily calories, protein-intake and steps, daily hours of sleep, moods throughout the day, meditations, due dates for homework, projects and exams, and more.
How To Stay On Track With Your Winter Arc
While trying to improve our livelihood, we tend to slip away from our effective routines and return back to our old habits. So, how do you prevent yourself from going back? You can do it by keeping yourself disciplined. This can be done by holding yourself accountable for your own actions. For instance, if you have a desire to improve your sleep habits by waking up earlier, you will need to train yourself to set an alarm for the time you want to wake up at. By holding yourself accountable to set an alarm each night, it will eventually become a habit that you will keep on repeating.
One way to keep yourself from steering away from your goals is by motivating yourself. Using a journal, you can write down affirmations or answer self-reflection questions. For example, some prompts that you can answer are “Name a goal you want to accomplish in three months” and “List five things that you appreciate in life.” By writing your thoughts in a journal, it will motivate you to continue reaching for your aspirations. You have to think about the positive outcomes that you want to see from pursuing your winter arc.
Another way to keep yourself focused on your winter arc is by treating yourself frequently. It’s common for people to feel burned out after repeating an activity for an extended period of time. That’s why it’s important for everyone to take breaks from time to time. While taking breaks, you can reward yourself for your hard work and dedication. After completing a task, you should treat yourself by going out to eat at a restaurant or watching a film at a movie theater.
Helpful Resources To Use In Your Winter Arc
Now, it’s time to put your goals into action using resources. If you’re striving to reach your fitness goal by walking over 10,000 steps per day, you should consider tracking your steps. For iPhone users, you can track your steps using the phone’s Health app. But, if you’re using other devices, you can use the MyFitnessPal app to record your steps as well. The app is also useful for tracking your exercises and calories too.
For people who want to improve their mental health, Daylio Journal is a great resource to track your moods and activities of your day. By logging in your moods and activities, you can see how your mental health has changed over months and years. And, to monitor your sleep, you can use the Health app on your iPhone, which will tell you how many hours you have slept. Then, you can record the information you collected into your journal.
And finally, if you’re trying to make progress with your academic life, Notion is a free website that can help you reach your goal. On the website, you have the ability to create charts, where you can write and organize your work by class sections and dates. So, this allows you to stay on top of upcoming due dates.
Will you be joining in on your own winter arc? Let us know in the comments!
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