Life happens. College happens. We’ve all had those days: you spill your morning coffee, forget to print the paper you stayed up all night working on, slept through your alarm, got into an argument with your roommate or just woke up in a funk. In today’s fast paced, futuristic world where pausing for five minutes is an impossible task in itself, it’s imperative to make some time for self-care. We all know how busy you are, we’re busy too, but you have to come first. “Okay, okay, I’ll make time for self-care, but what do I even do?” We thought you’d never ask! Without further ado, here are 7 ways to add some self-care into your daily routine.
1. Breathe
When you feel yourself becoming overly anxious or stressed, breathe in and out, deeply and slowly, for ten counts, each inhale being one count and each exhale being one count. If you get to ten and are still feeling freaked, do ten more!
2. Hydrate
Buy a funky water bottle that holds 24oz of water and make sure you go through at least three rounds of it throughout the day. H₂0 works wonders on both your mental and physical state and if you get sick of the taste, add some lemon or strawberry slices to mix things up.
3. Take study breaks
You’re not going to finish your paper or read 95 pages in one sitting. Stand up, take a stroll through the Boston Common, have a snack, call a friend. You’ll come back to your assignment feeling focused and relaxed.
4. Go outside
Sit on the patio of your favorite coffee shop while you have your daily iced chai and soak up the sun! Getting a little sunshine is a sure fire way to shake off some stress.
5. Spend 10-30 minutes a day doing something that makes you smile
Go for a run, read some more of that book you can’t get enough of, watch an episode of your latest Netflix binge or just dance around your room (honestly, your roommate probably needs a dance break, too).
6. Have a piece of dark chocolate
Dark chocolate has been proven to reduce stress, and if that’s not a good enough excuse to eat some chocolate, we aren’t really sure what is.
7. Let yourself rest
Getting eight hours of sleep, as well as taking time throughout the day to just lay down, breathe and reflect on the day, is essential to adding self-care into your daily life. Your day can get crazy, fast, so give yourself the opportunity to take a breather and check in every so often.
Even though self-care might be the last thing on your mind when you’re cramming for a final or stressing over a 10-page paper, it’s an essential ritual to add into your daily life. Just remember, you come first and there is always time to take a nice, deep breath.