College is hard. Studying is hard. Living well is hard. But with these 5 hacks, college life just got that much better.
1. Spice up your water.
photo courtesy of The Dr. Oz Show
Okay, don’t actually add spices to your water (unless that’s your cup of tea *pun intended*). What I mean is adding a bit of flavoring to your water—like lemon juice or cucumbers—can really make drinking water, dare I say, fun! PLUS, lemon juice is good for digestion and helps you feel full longer.
Bonus tip: drinking ice water burns more calories because your body uses energy to warm up the water to body temperature!
2. Don’t study in the same place you sleep.
Photo Courtesy of Puyallop Public Library
You know why everyone seems to be more productive at the library? Not because it’s some magical place with motivation molecules floating in the air, but because psychologically, when you carve out a time and a place to do homework, you are WAY more likely to get it done. Yes, the dorms have desks and homework can be done there, but when you study in your bedroom, your mind in waging this inner battle between “this is where I sleep” and “this is where I study.”
Maybe this is an extreme case, but I used to study on my bed because it was comfy and cozy. But then I started to notice that as I tried to fall asleep at night, I would start thinking about all the tasks I needed to get done. So what did I do? I stopped studying in my bedroom all-together and started study in the library, and the results were like magic. I got more schoolwork done in a shorter period of time, AND I could fall asleep much, much easier.
3. Get in a sleep rhythm.
Photo courtesy of Joshua O’ Connell
I tried it, and it works like a charm. You wake up earlier feeling just as refreshed as if you had slept in, AND you have more time to be productive. Here’s how it works: set your alarm for the same time every day—yes, even on weekends. If you need to get up for class at 8am M/W/F and 10am T/Th, then wake up at 8am every day (including weekends). Try it for a week. The first few days are really hard as your body adjusts, but after a week, it becomes easy to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. Your body gets in a sleep rhythm.
4. Find a work-out you love.
photo courtesy of Jessamyn
Your gym membership is built into your tuition, so you might as well use it! Try yoga, pilates, weight lifting, or even the rowing machine. Go to the gym alone. Go to the gym with friends. Make time for exercise, because exercise increases blood flow (an increased blood flow to the brain, especially, helps you study). Plus, working out releases dopamine in your brain (which stimulates happy thoughts and can be a huge stress reliever).
5. Write in a physical planner.
Photo courtesy of I Heart Planners
Ditch the smart-phone and get a physical paper planner or calendar. #1: Physically crossing things off of your planner/checklist releases dopamine in your brain (yup, that happy chemical we talked about earlier). And dopamine has been linked to more than just happiness; it’s also been linked to feelings of motivation. And we could all use a little bit of that now-and-again, #amiright? #2: Writing in a paper planner keeps you off your phone. Because if we’re honest here, how many times have we opened our phones to actually do something productive and then gotten distracted by the Snapchat notifications? #3: Physically writing things down helps you to better remember what you just wrote down; so in case you forget to check your planner, you’re more likely to remember the tasks you have planned for the day.
So get ready. Get set. Live well.