CREDIT: STOCK PHOTO
Getting organized and staying organized is an underappreciated key to success.

The beginning of a New Year marks a fresh start we hope will be as pure as the driven snow. Most times we focus on fitness, family life and friendship when wanting to better ourselves and the people around us. But take it from old Father Time, a.k.a. your friendly professor: it's also important to consider improving your study habits, and, concurrently, your career moves.

A survey by Virgin Mobile Canada reported more than 51 per cent of Canadians make New Year's resolutions, but more than half — 52 per cent — can't last more than a month.

The survey asked more than 1,000 adults about their New Year's resolutions. Topping the list were: stay in touch with friends and family; fall in love; quit smoking; get better grades or a promotion at work; and drink less alcohol.

Publisher Penguin Group (Canada) lists its own Top 10 Canadian New Year's Resolutions, including (in order): lose weight; stop smoking; stick to a budget; save more money; find a better job; become more organized; exercise more; be more patient at work/with others; eat better; and become a better person.

If you belong to a fitness club, then you know the wait time for the treadmill will triple this month. Jumping on the fitness train — and then falling off before February — is probably the most likely failed resolution. And it's a good bet in today's hurried society, being more patient with others is also a tough chore, although that may be the cynical journalist in me speaking.

It is encouraging, though, to see getting better grades and finding a better job amongst the top wishes for the New Year. Here, then, are a few tips that may be useful in keeping those resolutions throughout 2013.

Another of the aforementioned resolutions — become more organized — is really what I believe to be the secret of success in obtaining better grades. Too many times I learn of students who, despite their intelligence, talents and admirable study habits, fail to get the best grades possible. It is ironic that during a time when multitasking comes as easy as brushing your teeth, organizing school schedules becomes as difficult as a root canal.

Being of old-school mentality, I still have a large desk calendar for tracking appointments, deadlines and to-do lists. I also carry a daily reminder book — again, old-school mentality, but it works for me. No doubt, most of you keep track of commitments via tablets and laptops. I do that too. Perhaps my New Year's resolution should be, don't be too organized. But the point here is that being organized is imperative to best utilizing time. As an entrepreneur who operates two businesses, my biggest fear each day is wasting time.

I do get it, though. Student life involves just as much socializing and networking as it does hitting the books. But you can easily juggle all of those things. I won't tell you that back in the day, I walked five miles to campus in a snowstorm, but I did rely on an organized schedule. Two weeks per month, I would arrive at the college by 4:30 a.m., air newscasts from 7 a.m. until noon, attend afternoon classes, handle sports editor duties for CIXX-FM, partake in Friday afternoon television newscasts and cover City Hall committee meetings. I still found time for an active social life — and yes, they sometimes overlapped, making for some hilarious on-air bloopers.

I tell my students about that crazy schedule, and they look at me like I have two heads. But the key to achieving all of those things was keeping an organized schedule. Thus, my biggest advice to you is to work on your organizational skills in order to better your grades. It doesn't hurt to study, either.

The other advice I have for students, in regards to job searching, is to start the moment you enter your program in September. It is never too early to network. Before I entered the Broadcast Journalism program here at Fanshawe, I volunteered as a night editor at CKSLAM 1410, learning the ropes from mentors including Chris Mayberry and Steve Hennigar, now at The Canadian Press. During my second year of studies, I worked part-time as a reporter and newscaster at 1570 CHLO in St. Thomas, again honing my skills and networking.

The biggest mistake I see students make is waiting for a plum job to come to them. You may get lucky and have a dream job land on your lap, but chances are you'll have to work hard in order to land that ideal position.

As for my New Year's resolution, I'm working on not working too hard and taking more time to enjoy life — easier said than done when you operate a business. It's a resolution I make every year and, more times than not, fail by February. Here's hoping this is a lucky 2013.

Award-winning journalist Jeffrey Reed is a Fanshawe College professor with the Corporate Communication and Public Relations post-graduate program and an instructor with Fanshawe's Continuing Education department. Email him at jreed@fanshawec.ca.