Habits. We all have them, whether they’re habits we’re proud of or habits we wish we could break. I’ve been told multiple times in classes that it only takes about 21 days to form a habit. Now that doesn’t seem like that long of a time and I’m sure we could all do it if we put our mind to it, but what kind of habits should we be making? As college students, we honestly probably don’t have the healthiest of habits. Raise your hand if you’re guilty of any of the following: eating Domino’s pizza at 2:00 am multiple times a week, running off of 5 hours of sleep, drinking enough coffee that you could single-handily keep Starbucks in business and avoiding the gym like it’s a plague. It’s okay we’re all guilty of at least one bad habit. Enough about our bad habits, what about our good ones?
It’s a little harder to think of our good habits sometimes, huh? I’m sure you have at least one good habit, but no judgment if all your habits on the struggle bus. Next stop on the struggle bus? Good habits! Here are some habits worth giving a shot:
1.Drinking Enough Water
Okay, okay I know this one is an obvious one, but still, I guarantee that we aren’t drinking as much water as we should be. Drinking water is so important especially with summer right around the corner. For this healthy habit, let’s try to get at least our recommended daily water intake. This amount varies person to person, but the National Academic of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine says that women should be drinking about 11.5 cups of fluids a day.
2. Having a Laundry Schedule
Alright, the moment of truth, how many of you wait till you’re completely out of underwear before doing your laundry? My hand is definitely in the air. I know it’s bad and I should be doing my laundry once a week, but like do I? Nope. Yes, it’s more of a challenge coming up with outfits when all your usual clothes are dirty, but I’m always up for a challenge. That being said though, let’s just make all our lives easier and do our laundry on a more regular basis. Let’s aim for doing it once a week or maybe once every week and a half. Plus, who doesn’t love the smell of fresh laundry?
3. Washing Your Makeup Brushes
Do you even remember the last time you washed those bad boys? Props if you do, but most of us probably don’t. According to Allure.com, depending on the brush, we should be washing them as frequently as once a week or even twice a month. Put a reminder in your planner or on your phone to schedule those cleanings!
4. Reading the News
I’ll be the first to admit that when I’m at school, it’s really easy to just get caught up in everything that I’ll forget to keep up with the news. Don’t fret there are ways to make sure you’re up-to-date on what’s happening in the world and I’m not just talking about celeb news. Sign-up for theSkimm! It’s the one email I actually enjoy getting in my inbox plus I love their Instagram posts. What’s theSkimm? It’s a daily email with new stories written in a simple and easy to read style. Trust me, you’ll love it. You can also follow news outlets on social media. I follow The New York Times, BuzzFeed News, Business Insider, theSkimm, TIME, Forbes, Willamette Week, The Wall Street Journal and The Oregonian on Instagram. For this habit, try reading the news once a day or at least every other day.
5. Taking Care of Your Skin
Do you always take off your makeup before you go to bed? Do you always wash your face? How often are you changing your pillowcases? What do the letters SPF mean to you? Depending on your answers to those questions, you might need some help in the skincare department. I’ll be honest, sometimes I don’t take off my makeup before going to bed. For this habit, try taking your makeup every night before going to bed, wash your face and wear some sunscreen no matter what. Also, make sure you’re changing your pillowcase on a regular basis. Dirt and oil can build up on that pillowcase of yours and that’s no good for your skin.