Students at Agnes Scott College recently finished their first semester of the 2020-2021 school year. For me, it was my first semester of college. Ever. It was definitely an adjustment doing school online, and December gave me and many other students a much needed break. However, as the spring semester started just over a month ago, it is extremely easy to get overwhelmed with the workload of school and forget to take care of yourself. If this neglect lasts long enough, it can lead to mental distress and burnout. As someone who has dealt with both for many years, I recently found a few things that have given me a great sense of stability in my daily life as my school responsibilities become more hectic.
- Take breaks throughout the day
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I know, you’re probably thinking, Well, duh, but taking breaks is a lot more difficult than one would think. It’s really easy to get so caught up in your assignments. Trust me, I get it. There have been so many times that I tell myself, “I’ll take a break once I finish this!” And once I finish it, I just start a new assignment and repeat the same internal monologue. Spoiler: the break never happens, and I just end up passing out in exhaustion before I can even do something that I enjoy. To prevent this, it’s important to be stern with your breaks. If you’re doing an assignment, plan out how long you are going to work on it before you take your break, and STICK WITH IT! If I want to spend an hour on something before my break, once that 60 minute mark passes, I make sure to put all of my things away for break time. Another thing to add is to do something productive during your break. Instead of using your 20 minute break to just scroll through Instagram, use that time to do something mindful that will actually help your mood. Maybe do a guided meditation, stretch, or go on a walk. Just do something that will genuinely put you in a good mood before you have to look at your assignments or study again.
- Journal your thoughts
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Another thing that really helped me maintain a sense of stability is journaling. I used to journal every night, but as my schedule got more and more hectic, and I was staying up later each night, it got extremely difficult. The way I solved this is by picking one day to just journal about my entire week. For me, this day is Sunday. So, each Sunday night I pick up my bullet journal and just write about how my week went. Having a place where I can vent out my feelings and just write for remembrance is really nice and helps me prepare for the upcoming week.
- Make time for your loved ones
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When bombarded with schoolwork, it’s easy to get so lost in the multitude of assignments that you become a bit of a hermit and forget to check in with your loved ones. I know I do this a lot. I will get so overwhelmed with all of my work that I forget to respond to texts and communicate with others. We might think that talking to other people can be a distraction, but in reality, it can be the thing that prevents burnout the most. If you are on campus right now, maybe ask a friend if they want to pick up a meal with you or even just take a walk around the campus. Even if you aren’t out for long, just a small glimpse of human interaction can make you feel energized. If you aren’t on campus, there are still many ways to connect with your friends. There’s websites such as Telepathy, Bear.Cat, Metastream, and more that allow you to stream things with your friends from around the world. There’s also of course video chat such as Facetime and Google Duo that allow you to talk face to face (or screen to screen) to anyone. My mom and I have a weekly Google Duo call, and it really does clear my head to be able to see someone so familiar each week, especially now that I moved on campus for the spring semester.
I hope that these tips can be somewhat helpful in making this semester as good as it can be while also protecting your mental health. I know that we are living in very difficult times, and college can definitely make things much more overwhelming than they already are. I really hope that I could help ease that stress a bit. Please remember to take care of yourself! Your mental health and wellbeing should always come first.