Between “morning peels” and “75 Hard,” from every corner of the internet, we receive unsolicited advice on how to take care of ourselves. Over-priced gym memberships and the invention of insecurities to market a product are rampant across the digital world. However, there’s a secret that needs to be shared: self-care is a one ingredient recipe; the only thing you need is yourself.
There are many simple things one can do to boost their well-being that don’t involve expensive products or sleeping in layers of masks that are supposed to decrease wrinkles. Here’s a quick list of how to take care of yourself without the complications of capitalism:
1. get outside
It’s spring! That means the weather is the perfect sweat spot for basking in the sun without putting yourself at risk for a heat stroke. Sunlight gives you vitamin D and can boost your mood. Even if you don’t like being outside because of bugs or potential sweat, even 10 minutes outside can be a little pick me up.
2. Move your body
Regardless of how stressed out you might be, stiffness and stillness is not helping whatsoever. While sometimes driving to the gym, doing your workout, showering, and getting ready for a second time seems like too much, leading people to make the decision to not be active at all. Realistically, you don’t always have to pull out all the stops in order to get a workout in. Pulling up a 10 minute yoga practice on your phone or doing a quick Just Dance can help get your wiggles out and help you to refocus on what’s important to you rather than being drowned by responsibilities. Even doing a quick lap around your space between tasks can make a difference!
3. don’t neglect sleep
Even though in busy times it’s super easy to to warp your sleep schedule to give yourself more time to get everything done, completely sacrificing sleep will only make things worse. Even though during finals season 8 hours may not be realistic, at least try get four or five and take breaks and naps throughout your day. Being sleep deprived causes disorientation and allows people to get easily distracted. Think about that lost time, if there’s gaps where productivity will decrease either way, choosing to sleep is the obvious choice.
4. hydrate
This one is obvious, but energy drinks and coffee are not a replacement for drinking actual water. One tip to stay hydrated and productive is to switch tasks every time you finish a bottle of water. This helps you balance subjects, introduces a fun game, and gets a necessary fuel for human life in your body. On a similar note, do not neglect food for the sake of productivity; you can spare 10 minutes to pick something up in a to-go box or eat a protein bar. Even though it can be easy to forget to schedule times to eat, having the proper nutrients and energy in your body will only contribute to your success
5. Take breaks
This is probably a piece of advice that a stressed out college student wants to hear the least, but it’s one of the most important. Envision this: you have three papers due in one night, and you can either work on them all continuously until you’re done, which would probably take about 10 hours of your time. Or, you can allow yourself to breaks (even just short ones) in which you take laps between paragraphs and concepts, between each paper, and when you notice you’re having trouble focusing. Which one will result in a better finished product? Though doing all of your work in large quantities may seem like the only option with the daunting demands of finals season, allowing time to pause can make a world of difference in the overall grade of the assignment.
a message of Encouragement
Regardless of whether you are finishing your freshman year, a senior about to graduate, or anything in between, it is beyond essential that these tips are applied to your studying habits. The vibes on campus undeniably fade out during finals season; everyone has the end of the year buzz and an attitude of done-ness that harms overall productivity. Slipping down a negative path during finals week is easy to do, but by implementing these small (and free!) habits, you can enhance your success. Going into finals week, I have faith that anyone reading this article (and even those who did not) will stay motivated, locked-in, and strong throughout this treacherous part of the semester.