Living independently, whether it’s in college, in an apartment, or any other situation, is difficult. It can be hard to take care of yourself when there is no one around to encourage it or to remind you to. I know that the freedom of being on your own can be fun until the responsibilities of being alone take over.
It it often overwhelming to realize that you are responsible for laundry, dishes, cleaning, when you eat, what you eat, how you obtain your food, waking up, going to bed, and getting everything else done. That’s not even including bills or other stressors. I know that coming into college scheduling and prioritizing was one a necessity, because otherwise I had dirty laundry piling up for over a month, ate maybe once a day, and became very easily overwhelmed. The difficulty never gets easier, and sometimes I feel like I’m being dragged under. That’s why I sat down, and figured out what I really needed to do, because the lifestyle that I was living wasn’t working.
When taking care of yourself, the most important thing to take into account is how much time you have to do whatever needs to be done. Even if you are an extremely spontaneous person, knowing what time you have will allow you to figure out if you have time for everything you need to do. The next step is to make a list of everything you have to get done that day. Separate homework, work, bills, and personal care.
Start with the bills. Always start with the bills. Look through and pay them, however you do so. Bills, when late, or piling up can be one of the worst, most anxiety inducing feelings. To alleviate this, sit down and pay bills as soon as they arrive. Next, work on tackling homework and work. Do two assignments and then work on one item on the personal care list. Intersperse them within each other so that activity doesn’t get too monotonous. Overall, this will improve getting everything done, and making sure that life is slightly less stressful.
Specifically in personal care, do laundry once every two weeks. I know that you may not always have time, but try to make time. It is one of the most important things that you can do for yourself. If you have no clean clothing to wear, and a large allocation of dirty laundry, not only will it make your day worse, and you feel worse, but it also contributes to stress.
Next, feed yourself. If you are in college and have a meal plan, decide on specific times to go down to the dining halls. Eating will help your body stay healthy and prevent your blood sugar from dropping as frequently, which will keep you from having hunger induced mood swings; i.e. being hangry. Also: GO TO BED. I am as bad at this one as most are, but don’t stay up until four A.M. Even if you are able to get up the next morning, don’t do it; you will be overly exhausted, and everything will feel a lot worse. Attempt to get between eight and ten hours a night. If you can’t, then try to get as much sleep as possible.
Showering is another tedious process that needs to be done. I will be the first to say I forget to shower frequently. I don’t have the time, and I just hate showering in general. Dry shampoo has become my best friend. Showering is something that is important though. It makes you feel better and refreshed. For those that are like me and hate showering, or just don’t have the time, I recommend making a schedule for whenever you know you need to shower. Write down shower day, or something equivalent in your planner. This will allow you to be prepared for what you need to do, and once you set a pattern it becomes easier to get done.
These ideas are just a few that have helped me take care of myself. There are many other ways to take care of yourself, and you should strive to find the ones just right for you.