These lame-duck presidents actually got a lot done in their last year

• Passengers horrified after blood seeps out of cruise ship elevator
• Banned: No more microbeads in beauty products
• Bill Cosby charged in sex assault case
• Missing country singer's dog was found alive with friend's body
• Dubai luxury hotel fire: What we know now

New year ... new lame duck?

With one year left, kicking your feet up after going from this to this may be tempting, but not likely.

So what lessons can President Obama learn from the final year of recent two-termers?

Lesson 1: Hope for no money problems.

President George W. Bush spent basically all of 2008 dealing with the Great Recession. His approval ratings went way down. But he had success on the domestic front with the Economic Stimulus Act and the bank bailout.

>> Watch: President Obama, Seinfeld get coffee

Lesson 2: Go global. 

After a not-so-great couple of years, in his final year President Bill Clinton signed a bill solidifying trade partnership with China, which helped China get into the World Trade Organization.

>> President Obama won't eat these things

Lesson 3: Stay the course. 

Despite (almost) impossible odds, President Ronald Reagan never stopped trying to quell tensions with the Soviet Union. The arms-control agreement, called the INF Treaty, was ratified during his final year.