Mondays are a particularly good day to revisit your resolutions according to a joint public health initiative from Johns Hopkins, Columbia, and Syracuse Universities called Monday Campaigns.

That’s the day that offers a fresh start to transition back to a more structured routine, and an opportunity to celebrate a “mini-New Year” 52 times a year.

Here’s how Make it Monday works:

• Hit the reset button. Forget what happened or didn’t over the weekend – it’s a “do over.”
• Set specific, attainable goals for the next seven days with small action steps (example: I will walk 30 minutes Monday, Wednesday & Friday after class; I will drink water with ice, instead of juice or soda; I will pack five carrot and celery sticks in my backpack to munch on between classes).
• Share your plans with family, and friends to get encouragement and accountability. Some may be trying to make changes too – and can join you in your healthy resolutions, but be cautious of people who may sabotage your efforts. A healthy relationship relies on love and respect, not power and control. A healthy relationship fully support one another and want only the best for each other.
• Keep at it, with a wise affirmation, “I don’t know how to do it, but I can learn.”

Change takes time like any new skill. If you cannot change on your own, consider working with a counselor or therapist who can help guide you as you make small changes toward health, a New Year’s gift to yourself. Visit Mary Sullivan at Student Health Services in the lower level of Campus Center to talk about these and other actions.