Given the new year and semester has started, you’re probably being swept into the ocean of life again, and with each current comes a new wave of responsibility: classes, homework, clubs, internship searching. The list could go on and on, but no worries, there are plenty of ways you can change or add little things to your day-to-day lifestyle that can help you take care of and de-stress your very busy body. For me, I break up the little things that help me push through the day into three categories: mind, body and soul.
Mind
This category can include anything that will either challenge or quiet your mind so you are more focused or learn something you may not otherwise learn in your day-to-day life.
Some ideas:
- Reading a book for fun
- Writing in a diary or journal
- Writing a poem or story
- Meditating
- Reading an interesting article online
- Blogging
- Coloring
Body
In this category, you can include anything from taking a shower or eating a piece of fruit to working out. Life gets hard, but don’t forget to take care of your body! Healthy eating, drinking lots of water, and sleeping well will keep you strong and lessen your chance of getting sick.
Some ideas:
- Drink eight glasses of water a day (or 96 ounces) – Life Hack: Carry a water bottle so you are always drinking. Drinking water all day gives you more energy and clearer skin among other benefits.
- Sleep eight or nine hours
- Take a shower – This is embarrassing, but sometimes when I am very busy and stressed, this is the only thing I have time to do for myself, and it relieves me to know that even though the only nice thing I did for my body was take a shower, I at least did something.
- Eat a salad for lunch… or document other healthy choices that you may have made throughout the day when it comes to food, such as eating a piece of fruit instead of a cookie. When I eat healthy, my body feels more energized and my mind is clearer.
- Run three miles… or whatever exercise you happen to do that day such as yoga, an ab workout or a club sport. You could even include taking the stairs instead of the elevator or walking up Cardiac Hill instead of taking the 10A.
Soul
This category centers around anything that calms your anxieties and puts a smile on your face.
Some ideas:
- Therapy dogs
- Saying a prayer – If you are religious, you probably agree that taking a few minutes to talk to God or count your blessings can instantly calm you down and create a new attitude for the rest of your day.
- Yoga
- #treatyoself… because sometimes that is the best reward system for a crazy day. Drinking an iced coffee or painting my nails always relaxes me and makes me smile.
As you also probably noticed, many ideas can be organized into more than one category depending on what you consider the task helping the most. An example of this is meditation, which can quiet the mind, as well as enrich the soul.
Also, don’t worry if you do one or seven of these tasks or cover one category and not the others. The “mind, body, soul” way of thinking is supposed to be a way to get into a healthy mindset and help you to actively strive to deal with stress in healthy manners so that you pick up healthy habits and create a much happier life.
I keep a bullet journal, which helps me keep track of my water intake, as well as anything I do that meets the mind, body, and soul categories. Sometimes I even write down an inspirational quote, which I know seems cheesy, but it helps me to see the light in even my busiest, most stress-filled days. Learn how to start bullet journaling here.
Hope these tips are helpful to make this semester the happiest and healthiest yet!