By this point in our lives, we have all heard about the importance of self-care. We’ve heard people say, “Treat yourself!” while eyeing a piece of delicious red velvet cake at CoGro, or, “I deserve this,” as they get ready to go out on a Friday night. By no means are these two examples not methods of practicing self-care, but there are other ways as well.
Self-care is care provided “for you, by you.” It’s about identifying your needs and taking the steps to meet them. It’s focusing on time spent nurturing your soul and treating yourself as kindly as you treat others.
It’s easy to get caught up in all that goes on here at Queen’s, but it is very important to practice self-care. So here are my tips on squeezing in a little bit of self-care each week to make sure you are taking care of yourself and being the best you can be!
1. Self-care on a busy week can be as easy as saying no to certain commitments.
It is very easy to double-book yourself with a friend or with group members. By allocating your time throughout the day, you can say no to certain commitments, like taking on extra work for the group project, because of your busy schedule. Know what you can handle and what you cannot, and say something when you start to feel overwhelmed.
2. Mentally block off times for yourself.
I’m an avid user of Google Calendar. It allows me to handle everything from due dates, to club meetings, to socials and me-times.
What I do to ensure that I have some time for myself in the mornings and at nights is schedule in “bedtime” between 11:30 and 7 am. I don’t allow myself to book any late-night meetings or set any unrealistic expectations of “Getting up at 6am to go to the gym!!” – because that’s never going to happen.
This doesn’t mean I’m in bed by 11:30pm every night, but it means that I come home at least by 11:30pm and start winding down for the night. Self-care can be easy as taking a long hot shower, doing a face mask and journaling at the end of the night. It’s easy to say that you “never have time for self-care,” but if you block off your time and prioritize, there is always room for self-care.
3. Learn some quick fixes.
Self-care doesn’t always have to happen in your room when you’re by yourself. Self-care is simply doing what feels good for your soul. When I find myself in the middle of a very jam-packed week, and feeling very overwhelmed with emotions and stress, I have a couple tricks up my sleeves that I know will help calm me down.
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Going for a nice walk by the water or downtown. You can say you don’t have time for this, but this little bit of exercise can clear your mind. Physically removing yourself from the space where you feel a lot of tension – like campus – can help calm you down and disassociate yourself from that high-stress situation.
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Listening to my favourite Spotify playlist during a short break. Personally, music helps me to clear my mind and to regain control of my emotions. If I feel like I can’t handle anything that day, I put on my favourite artist or album, close my eyes and practice deep breathing. Then I get my planner out and plan my day or week. This breaks down all the things that need to get done into manageable baby steps.
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Going to meet up with a friend for lunch! Talk about anything other than how stressed you are. Talk about your plans for the weekend, your thoughts on the economy – anything BUT school. Even if it’s a 30-minute lunch break, this will do wonders for your brain.
I hope that this article helped you to be more mindful of how much self-care you are practicing in your everyday life. I know it’s easy to say that you don’t have time for self-care, but if your mind and body are not in a healthy place, all the hours you spend at Stauffer studying won’t do you any good.
Take care of your mental and physical health and you’ll feel much happier, be less stressed, and be much more productive in your studying.
Good luck!