When in come to getting your captain’s license, there’s a lot to remember. Here are some characteristics of really smart people that could come in handy.

It wasn’t that long ago that we started penning New Year’s resolutions for 2013. A lot of us probably thought about eating better, getting more exercise, spending more time with family and improving our academic performance. The big question is whether we can stick to those goals.

There are plenty of arguments out there about whether making New Year’s resolutions is productive. Do those goals motivate us to do better, or do they set us up for failure? That’s up to you to decide. But you’re definitely on the right path career-wise to be here with us. You could be changing your financial prospects dramatically.

For many, resolutions are great things. Goal setting is never a bad idea. It’s also a perfect way to start off the New Year to focus on positive ways to improve yourself and your quality of life. Sure, you may not meet all of your goals, but it’s the act of working toward them that matters.

Regardless of how you approach this year’s resolutions, the end goal is usually aimed at achieving something that will increase your personal happiness — such as becoming a captain. Truth is, you can achieve that happiness by making just a few simple daily adjustments. (You don’t even have to call them resolutions if you don’t want to.)

Take a minute to plan and prioritize. Ending your day with that priceless feeling of accomplishment often requires a little strategy. Pick one thing that, if you get it done today, will move you closer to a big goal. Do that first and then let the rest fall in line.

Give a ‘gift’ to everyone you meet. Don’t worry. They don’t have to be big. These gifts may simply be a smile, a greeting or a word of encouragement. The feeling of giving nearly always yields happiness.

Assume people have good intentions. It’s not hard to assign meaning to actions others do that annoy you. Since you can’t read minds, you don’t really know the “whys” behind the “whats” that people do. Imputing less than pure motives to other people’s weird behaviors adds extra misery to life.

End each day with gratitude. Just before you go to bed, write down at least one good thing that happened. Even if you bombed a test that day, maybe you got an A on a paper, or your child made you proud. Whatever it is, be grateful for that day.

These dark cold winter days are loved by only a few. For most students, freezing temperatures and shorter periods of sunlight will take a toll.

One study found that more than a quarter of college-level students have Seasonal Affective Disorder, or the winter blues, which are caused by unstable hormone levels due to the drop in sunlight hours.

How do you know you have the blues? Difficulty waking up, lack of motivation, problems concentrating and frequent cravings for carbohydrate-rich comfort food like chocolate all fall under common winter blues symptoms. The good news is you can avoid it all together with a few steps.

Light up your life. The sun may not be out as much but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it when it does make an appearance. The more bright light you’re exposed to each morning, the better. If you get up after sunrise, you could go outside or sit by a large window — even on cloudy days. Light boxes or “happy lights,” that produce similar effects to the sun’s natural rays have also been known to be effective.

Simulating your own dawn has been found to be a good alternative to dark mornings. Set a timer, using a light box, or even just a normal adjustable incandescent, to come on before sunrise and increase it’s brightness as you are getting ready in the morning.

Working out can be a gladiator in the fight to tackle the wintertime blues. Aerobic exercise improves mood and has been shown to reduce stress.  Briskly walking to class, snow shoeing, skiing, sledding and having a snowball fight have all be proven to help sufferers of the blues feel better.

Fight the junk cravings. Try eating larger portions of complex carbohydrates, like wheat pasta and brown rice, along with healthy simple carbohydrates like fruits and fruit juices. Avoiding unhealthy snacks that cause momentary relief, but ultimately decrease energy like soda and sugary treats.

Early to bed early to rise may be something your grandparents espoused but it really works.  A common behavior among many students is engaging in late-night study sessions and then sleeping in the following morning.  But this only shortens your sun exposure. The longer you are awake during daylight hours the longer your exposure to sunlight.

Do you leave your phone on vibrate during class? That’s perfectly fine. But it may not be the best thing for you academically. One study shows that short interruptions — even from a vibrating phone — can lead to mistakes.