Over the last year, I have taken to focusing more on my mental health, as I am sure many others have done. Covid has woken a lot of people up, making them more aware of how important mental health is and how much it needs to be prioritized. This semester I had committed myself to work more on and focus on myself. I have tried and failed at incorporating habits into my daily routine, which were good and bad for me. A habit is only good if you can realistically do it every day; otherwise, the effect is lost. The following are habits I have been able to incorporate into my routine this semester and ones I highly recommend.
The first habit I started to do sounds like a no-brainer, but it has actually made a world of a difference. That habit is making my bed in the morning. I used to laugh at people who did this because you are just going to sleep in anyways. I have since come to realize that bed hygiene and health make a world of a difference. I used to never make my bed because I would do homework in my bed, but incorporating this in your morning routine is easy and highly effective. Doing homework in my bed not only psychologically told my brain that this was not a spot for rest, but it made it harder for me to fall asleep at night. Having separate spaces for studying and relaxation are highly important. Though it is not realistic to never study on your bed, making your bed is a good start in the right direction. Making your bed as soon as you wake up gets you out of that groggy sleep mode. It makes you feel accomplished and helps create mental separation between sleep and work. I still work on my bed from time to time, but it is on a made bed now.
The second habit I recommend is yoga. This one can be harder to incorporate, but it can be a great one. Any form of exercise is great, but yoga places a high level of importance on mind and body awareness. This can help you relax as it eases your body, mind and soul, allowing you to be present in the moment. Too often are we plagued with anxieties and fears wherein our heads are off in the distant future. Yoga is a great way to carve out some time for yourself and reconnect to the present moment. It is also not super unattainable, as you can follow yoga tutorials on YouTube. I mainly practice on YouTube, and it can be great as you don’t have to leave your house, and you can easily fit it into your schedule.
The next habit I have begun is personal reading. Too often have I lost my joy for reading because I didn’t make time for it. If I had to read something, it might as well be something I had to read for class. This mentality doesn’t create a lot of separation between personal time and work time. By carving out 30 minutes a day to read something for yourself, you are taking time to focus on yourself. I normally set a timer, put my phone on DND and just go for it. I find that my mind is often clearer and more ready to focus afterwards, as it actually had a break. I wasn’t reading so that I could memorize information, but I was reading for myself, which honestly makes all the difference.
All in all, mental health cannot be worked on in one day; it is an ongoing process. As such, having habits that you can realistically replicate on a daily basis will be better than ones that are good on paper but not practical. The most important thing you can do if you need help is to reach out. Investing in your own well-being will let you be more successful than putting it off. The habits I mentioned are good, but if you have issues that run deeper going to therapy will always be the best course of action.