As a college student, sometimes it can feel like you’re burning the candle from both ends. For me personally, I feel easily overwhelmed when life gets hectic. As a passionate mental health advocate, however, I believe that devoting time for self-care is just as important as your academics, professional development, and social life. If I don’t have opportunities to recharge, I feel like I’m pouring from an empty cup and this can often negatively impact my grades, work performance, and relationships.
Self-care looks different for everyone and is far from a one-size-fits-all concept. That being said, if you are looking for new ways to practice self-care in a productive way, here are my five go-to habits that you can try!
A Weekly “Spoil Yourself” Night
I like to dedicate one night per week as a “spoil myself” night, filled with all things self-love, pampering, and my favorite activities. You can treat yourself to your favorite take-out or home-cooked meal, fill your room with your favorite scent (my go-to is vanilla incense from Ital Imports, which is right behind Melody Records!), and read that book you haven’t had time to open yet or watch your favorite movie that you haven’t seen in forever. While it may sound cliché, allowing myself this time for relaxation and pampering gives me something to look forward to and is often my motivation to push through tough assignments and busy weeks.
Gratitude Journaling
This was recommended by my therapist a few years ago, and it is quite frankly my most life-changing self-care habit that I’ve incorporated into my daily routine. Every night, I end the day by writing five things I love about my life, that I’m thankful for, or just good things that happened that day. This practice has single-handedly shown me the value of gratitude. Even after a really tough day, sitting down and writing out five events, things, people, you name it, reminds me that there is still so much to be thankful for and it can truly pull me out of any funk.
Invest in a Planner
I’m an avid to-do list and planner user. I have an agenda for all my assignments, a wall calendar (a Taylor Swift one if you’re wondering) where I put all my sorority and extracurricular events, and a weekly white board schedule where I put all of my classes, meetings, and plans. Having a visual of all of my commitments helps me stay organized and at least for me, life feels less chaotic when you have a plan (“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail” is one of my life mottos). If you like having everything in one place, consider buying a planner to write out your assignments, meetings, and commitments! I also highly recommend the app MinimaList. It’s a simple to-do list app and its clean and minimal appearance makes even the most daunting of tasks seem a little less intimidating.
Sweat Out the Stress
No matter how stressed out I am, pumping up my endorphins with a workout is always a great pick-me-up. While my favorite way to workout is to hit the WREC, I also love going on walks around the neighborhood and following video workouts (if you haven’t yet, check out MadFit on YouTube). No matter what type of exercise it is, this habit always boosts my mood and gives me a huge sense of accomplishment when I’m done. Did you know the WREC offers daily workout classes too? You can find the full schedule here!
Learn How to Say No
While this is probably the most important step in avoiding burnout, this also happens to be the one I’m still learning how to master. If you’re anything like me, you sign up for every opportunity you can to gain new experience and build that resume! While this can be awesome, I’ve also often found myself with way more on my plate than I have time for. Setting boundaries, whether they’re related to your relationships, work, or even yourself, can be extremely difficult to navigate. This process can look different for everyone but if you’re not sure where to start, join me in reading this book, The Art of Saying NO by Damon Zahariades. Who knows, maybe there will be a book review in the near future! (;