Like many other college students across the country, I deal with a lot of stress. From countless assignments, to constantly worrying about upcoming exams, college can be rough on your mental state. Because of this, it is important to have some “you” time. For the past couple of years that I’ve been in college, I have found self-care implementation methods that work for me, hopefully it can work for you too!
My first piece of advice (which I think is the most important piece) is to make sure you take the time to organize your time. Yes, I said you should use your time to organize your time. You might think “isn’t that actually just wasting time?” You might think so, but in reality, it’ll really save you time. If you know and understand what you’re doing in specific parts of the day, you’ll be able to incorporate some breaks in-between those long study hours. Trust me, it may seem like a waste of time at first; once you get into the groove of organizing your schedule, your days will feel much less stressful. With those newfound hours of the day, you can incorporate some longer-lasting self care routines. The options are endless, whatever makes you happy and relaxed, feel free to do what you want! I have some favorite self-care options, including skincare (such as doing face masks), watching videos on TikTok, and watching Lucifer on repeat for the third time in a row (side note: if you haven’t watched Lucifer, I highly recommend it!).
Let’s say after scheduling out your day, you still cannot find an appropriate time to practice some self-care. Believe me, I have had plenty of those days. Though this may seem like a lost cause of a day, you still have options to practice self-care! When I have overwhelming days, I force myself to have study intervals. For example, my schedule entails that I have to study for four hours due to an upcoming exam; for those four hours of studying, I create 30 minute intervals where after the intervals end, I do a one minute breathing technique (whether that just be deep breathing, quick meditation, etc.). This method of studying not only prevents extreme eye-straining, but it is one of the top mindfulness practices when studying for classes. You could do this for any kind of assignment or study session!
We can’t forget the two times of the day where you don’t have classes: mornings and nights (unless you have an 8 A.M, or a 6-9 P.M, where you technically have to deal with early mornings and late nights). In order to incorporate my self-care needs into my routine, I make sure I wake up two hours before my first class. I have always been an early riser, so depending on your class schedule, you may not like this; but, if your first class is at noon, this should work out for you. For those two hours, I spend the first 30 minutes practicing some self-care, some of my favorite morning self-care options are meditation, listening to music, and yoga. This allows for a smooth transition from sleep to being awake, and doesn’t make you feel groggy and irritated about being up. For nighttime, this can greatly vary on what day it is, and if you enjoy being up at night. I am not someone who is up late at night; most nights, you’ll see me asleep by 11:00. Because of this, I set a strict one hour nighttime routine that also involves a 30 minute self-care period (much like I do in the mornings). This is a time where I wind down from the stresses of the day, and allow myself to truly relax!
College can be a stressful time for many students. Being able to create effective methods to implement self-care practices into your routine will ease the everyday stresses of college. Self-care also promotes the idea of variety and fluctuation; what may work for someone, may not work for you. One week, you might be able to commit 30 minutes to self-care, while another week, you could commit three hours. As well as this, one method of self-care might be enjoyable to you, while something else may feel useless. The possibilities are endless in the field of self-care; it’s all about finding the right ways to make sure it fits into some area of your routine!