It’s a new year. It’s a new semester. What better way to start off my first blog post of 2011 than with some resolutions.

First, upon coming to campus in the fall, I established a goal GPA for my first semester here at UT. I knew it was going to take a lot of work, studying and dedication. I spent many afternoons and evenings huddled up in the Reliant Productivity Center in the Graduate School of Business (GSB) and the Perry-Castañeda Library (PCL) toward the end of the semester. It all paid dividends in the end. I achieve my goal GPA for the fall. Now, I’ve set an even higher and very challenging goal for my overall GPA by the time I graduate. It will be hard to achieve, but after one semester I have a good perspective on the things that I could do better.

Second, toward the end of the last semester, I was discussing with one of my good friends here the prospect of starting to work out on a regular basis. It had been over a year since I was on any kind of workout regimen, and living a healthy lifestyle is something that I wanted to make a priority in my life. I think a lot of problems with resolutions to get fit revolve around the fact that people don’t consider them in the context of a lifestyle change. Getting fit shouldn’t be about losing that last ten pounds of fat or building muscle for Spring Break. Those are great side effects, but getting fit needs to be about a person’s willingness to have a lifestyle that increases his/hers enjoyment of life. So my friend and I both agreed to start working out over the break and then hit the weights, cardio and diet hard when we returned to Austin. I did research on the foods I needed to be eating to achieve my fitness goals. I’ve developed workout plans to help me with my goals. And after two days of intense workouts with my friend, I can say I am sufficiently sore to the bone.

Third, I want to be more fiscally responsible. I want to establish savings goals and budget my resources more efficiently. It’s not necessarily my desire to become stingy, but I think tracking the way I spend money will help me make better decisions about the kinds of the things I should and should not be buying. Additionally, practicing healthy spending habits now will train me to handle those resources better when I start my full-time job in the fall.

So there you go; these are my new resolutions for 2011 and beyond. What are some of your resolutions?