Practicing self-care is very important, especially when you are a busy college student. Colgate facilitates a go-go-go lifestyle, and it can be hard to put yourself first. Most days, it feels like there’s always something more you could be doing whether it’s studying for your next exam, participating in extracurriculars, or applying for summer internships. With this heavy load, we all feel burnt out from time to time. When I find myself feeling this way, I try to schedule some time in my busy schedule to do something for myself. Here are some easy things you can do to get through your busy week!
- Going Outside and Taking a Walk
After staring at your screen all day, reconnecting with nature is an under-appreciated and highly beneficial way to clear your head. I love to listen to upbeat music as I walk through town and around campus. These walks always energize me and help me take a real break!
- Preparing Healthy Meals
As a Junior this year, I have access to a kitchen, which is a game changer, and I love making meals that are healthy and filling. However, this is easier said than done because it can be quite consuming to prepare and cook a full gourmet meal every day. This often leads me to make not as healthy meals throughout the week when I am really busy. This can be translated to the dining hall as well, trying to pick the healthiest option will help fuel your body and keep you from getting sick. My favorite dining hall option is the chicken caesar wrap from coop. A hack is putting it in the panini press to make it 100 times better.
- Completely relaxing and not thinking about things that stress me out.
Another thing I am intentional about is when I do allow myself to have down time, whether it is watching tv or hanging out with my friends, I try to completely relax and not think about the things I still have to do. This is because if you are stressed the whole time you are supposed to be relaxing then it is counterproductive and will lead to a quicker burnout. I implement this idea into my mindset when I am going out too. If I know I want to go out or will not be productive staying in, I allow myself to go out and not worry about what I will have to do the next day. Going out and having fun is an important part of self care.
- Keeping my living space clean.
The fourth way I practice self care is keeping my living space clean. Although this seems like work and not a relaxing task, it is very beneficial to have a relaxing environment. I always feel much better when my space is clean so I try to do a quick pick up every day and a good deep clean once a week. This will also help prevent sickness by disinfecting surfaces which is where viruses live.
- Always have something to look forward to.
My fifth and final self care tip is always having something to look forward to. Whether it’s going out on the weekend or treating yourself to buying a coffee, it is important to know something fun is on the horizon when you are in your grinding mode. I find myself getting really stressed when I am looking at my planner and I seem to have a million things to do and not want to do any of them. By sprinkling in fun activities it can motivate me to get through the day.
Although these tips aren’t ground breaking, I find them to be very helpful and help me be the best I can be in many areas of my college student life. The most important thing is to listen to your body and put yourself first.