Whether you are eagerly anticipating the beginning of the school year or are dreading it with every inch of you, the reality is that it’s quickly approaching and the outcome of the semester ahead could weigh heavily on your future. Having the right mindset at the beginning of the school year can help you prioritize and focus on what matters, and enable you to perform to your highest ability this year. These five simple mindset tips have been tried and tested by some of the most successful, wealthy and accomplished people on the planet, why not incorporate them yourself heading into this fresh year at school?

1. Establish a morning routine

What do Tony Robbins, Steve Jobs and Margaret Thatcher have in common? They all practice(d) regular morning routines. Typical morning routines involve quiet time (this could be meditation), positive affirmations or visualizations (this could involve prayer), journaling or reading, exercise, and a healthy breakfast. In Hal Elrod’s best-selling book The Miracle Morning he talks about the perfect formula for morning routines that have transformational abilities. The acronym for this formula is SAVERS and it involves Silence, Affirmations, Visioning, Exercise, Reading and Scribing (writing). Whichever activities you would like to include in your morning routine it is up to you, the important thing is having one and being consistent with it.

2. Create goals, and take steps towards them

As a student you are no stranger to goal setting. You’ve likely been drilled the importance of having goals since you could ride a bike. As a college student, goal-setting takes on a whole new meaning. Not only will you likely have study related goals, but now personal and professional goals might have a place too. Having goals is one thing, but being accountable towards your goals is the most important thing. When setting goals it’s important to ensure they are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely), that you evaluate and fine-tune them regularly, and that they feed into your bigger dreams and aspirations for life. Why not create a vision board for the school year ahead to help define your goals? To do so cut out magazine photos and words that will inspire you to live your best life.

3. Create systems to keep you on track

Having systems implemented in your daily routine will enhance efficiency in your every day, reducing wasted time and adding ease into your day. A great system for back to school could be a system for studying. If you’re a visual learner, perhaps this could involve slide shows and flash cards, if you’re use to the written word perhaps reading text books and writing out notes in preparation. By creating a study system that suits you, you can be confident and prepared when entering into sometimes stressful situations like exams.

4. Stop negative talk in your mind

Have you ever tuned into your mental chatter to see if the nature of the tone was positive or negative? Many people have an un-healthy internal dialogue that is full of worry, judgement and doubt. This internal self talk can greatly affect mood and overall experience of life. Being mindful of this inner self talk is important, and replacing limiting the negative talk with positive talk will do wonders for the mindset. Affirmations and meditations are ways to improve the tone of self talk in the mind. It is especially important to be aware of negative self talk in stressful events such as exams or new situations and replacing the negative talk with positive inner encouragement.

5. Create a functional space

Having a functional, safe and comfortable place to rest and recharge is imperative to having an optimal mindset. A space where you can ‘get away from it all’, re-charge your battery and re-align with your goals and tasks at hand will help you achieve optimal performance this school year. Whether this functional space is a bedroom in your dormitory or an apartment off-campus such as at Stargate West Luxury Apartments, a place where you can truly de-stress and prepare for what lies ahead is paramount.

Here at Stargate West we have off-campus student accommodation that is spacious, luxuriously appointed and conveniently located near the University of Arizona (UoA). We offer incentives for students with high GPA’s, and provide an ideal atmosphere for College students looking to live off campus. For more information on our student rates, see here.