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Wellness

10 Self-Care Resolutions for 2025 You’ll Actually Stick To

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SJSU chapter.

Is it on your New Year’s resolution list to become “that girl” and be the best version of yourself? As they say, self-love is the best love, and practicing self-care is something we could all use a little more of as 2025 kicks into full-swing. Here are 10 self-care resolutions to add to your routine.

1. Starting a Journaling Practice

If you want to start a habit of documenting your thoughts or practicing mindfulness this year, journaling is a way you can practice self-care and improve your mental health. All you need is paper and a pen.

When people first start a journaling practice, many find themselves unsure of what to write about, but there are countless videos and prompts on social media that can guide you. A common misconception that can prevent people from starting a habit of journaling is they feel like they should be writing something deep or insightful. However, it’s more than enough to simply write about your day or what your current favorites are. 

You can start by doing a “brain dump,” which is a writing practice that encourages people to write their thoughts for a set time limit of five to ten minutes each day to clear their heads. There are no rules to what you can write about, and there are various types of brain dumps that you can implement into your daily routine, such as doing a brain dump in the morning or after you learn an important concept in class. 

The main goal when you’re building the habit of journaling is to be consistent; whether you want to start journaling at night or in the morning, set your journal on your nightstand to prompt yourself to write. When you eventually learn to build the habit of journaling, it can have positive effects on your mental health. According to an article by WebMD, journaling can reduce anxiety, help you regulate your emotions, and create self-awareness. If you’re consistent, journaling can become a valuable tool to practice self-care and improve your relationship with yourself.

2. Have a Sunday Reset

If you ever find yourself feeling the Sunday Scaries before the start of the week, a Sunday reset is a great tool to jumpstart your week productively. 

The idea of a Sunday reset is rooted in recharging and preparing for the week ahead. This can look like cleaning or decluttering your space, booking appointments, or scheduling time with friends. 

Starting your week with a clean space will set you up for success. Cleaning tasks can be daunting to some; one way to begin the task is to start with a small section of your space. This can be your nightstand, your bathroom counter, or just a junk drawer that you’ve been avoiding. Set a timer for 10 minutes, and until the timer goes off, focus on short, manageable tasks, like throwing away trash or wiping down any flat surfaces that can accumulate dust.

Besides physical clutter in your space, one type of clutter that doesn’t always cross people’s minds is digital clutter. When was the last time you looked at your “Recently Deleted” album on your phone? I’m guessing there are countless screenshots of lecture notes or saved TikTok videos you’ve forgotten about in your photo album. 

Take an hour in your day to clear your camera roll, unfollow any people you don’t resonate with on social media, or delete any apps that you don’t normally use. Although it’s not as apparent as physical clutter, digital clutter can have just as much of a mental toll on you as a messy room. 

According to Dr. Susan Albers, a clinical psychologist who was interviewed in an article for CNN, she states, “‘Digital clutter is just as stressful as actual clutter in our physical world. It’s something that triggers a lot of stress and anxiety, the collection of emails, pictures, open tabs — an overwhelming number of digital items that trigger overload.’”

By doing these simple tasks before the start of the week, you can stop dreading Mondays and start looking forward to crushing your goals because you did your future self a favor by planning ahead. 

3. Invest Time in Hobbies

The new year is a great time to try out a new hobby or learn a new skill. Investing time in a new hobby can benefit your mental health and offer a much-needed break from the daily grind of schoolwork and classes. Having a hobby can also help you maintain a healthy work-life balance, crucial to preventing burnout and improving productivity. 

According to the article “Why Hobbies are Important: Discovering the Benefits of Pursuing Personal Interests” written by Alex Koliada for American Field Service (AFS) Intercultural Programs, hobbies “have the power to transform your mental well-being, eventually bridging the gap between work and play.” By investing time in a hobby you enjoy, you’re taking the necessary time to relax and recharge before continuing to tackle your tasks at school or work. 

The benefits of hobbies go beyond benefitting only yourself. Investing time in hobbies gives you the opportunity to “expand your social and professional networks, enhance your skills, and even discover innovative opportunities that may eventually impact your career or life in a positive way,” Koliada states.

Although many people usually think of hobbies as exclusively leisurely activities, they can also be a crucial tool for self-development and personal growth. For instance, if you want to make a hobby of reading regularly, finishing your first book can give you a sense of accomplishment and can be a rewarding experience. 
Unsure of where to start? Begin thinking of what you’re already good at doing and find ways to cultivate a specific skill in your free time. You can start by dedicating as little as thirty minutes a day to learning or researching what hobbies you want to start by looking on YoTube or Pinterest for inspiration.

4. Sleep Hygiene

As college students, I’m sure we’re all sleep-deprived to some degree. However, this doesn’t have to be the standard. By incorporating healthy sleeping habits into your wind-down routine before bed, you can increase your chances of falling asleep and the quality of your sleep throughout the night.

An article by Sleep Foundation advises that if you nap throughout the day, they should be around 20 minutes in the early afternoon. Napping too late into the day can throw off your circadian rhythm and cause you to have more trouble sleeping at night, so it’s best to keep them short and sweet.

If you are at your desk a lot, it’s important to make time to get at least thirty minutes of natural light exposure throughout the day to balance your circadian rhythm, which “becomes closely synchronized with sunrise and sunset, staying awake during the day, and sleeping when its dark.” This can be through opening your blinds, working near a window with sunlight, or going for a short walk on your lunch break. 

At night, I know how easy it is to fall down the doom-scrolling rabbit hole and end up staying awake longer than you want to. To prevent this, make sure to stay off of your electronic devices at least an hour before bed by unplugging any devices to avoid exposure to blue light, since blue light “has been shown to reduce…the natural production of melatonin in the evening and decrease feelings of sleepiness.”

5. Meal Prep

When we’re busy with lectures or staying up late to cram for an assignment, we tend to go for the easiest meal option, not the healthiest. However, eating instant ramen for the fifth day in a row isn’t going to help you achieve your goals of eating healthier this year. Instead, learn how to effectively grocery shop and prepare meals by meal prepping during one day of the week to make the rest of your week a little easier. 

Meal prepping is when you make meals in batches that can last you throughout the entire week, so you don’t have to worry about what to eat at every meal. When you’re first starting out it’s more than enough to make even one to two meals from scratch for the week. 

First, make a grocery list based on what meals you want to make throughout the week. It’s also helpful if your recipes use the same ingredients so you can reuse any leftover produce for the following week. For recipe inspiration, you can check out videos on YouTube or other social media to give you ideas. 

After grocery shopping, you can start by prepping the ingredients for your meals. This can be by cutting up fruit/vegetables or marinating your protein options to reduce prep time when you’re ready to eat. If you have leftover ingredients from your meal prep, you can store them in your freezer if you have access to a fridge to extend the longevity of your food and ensure that it can be consumed later. 

The most important thing to remember is that grocery shopping and meal prepping effectively takes time to master and can look different depending on everyone’s lifestyle, background, and diet. The ultimate goal is to start making healthier choices wherever you can and with whatever tools you have.

6. Reducing Caffeine

Many of us are in the habit of frequently consuming coffee and other highly caffeinated beverages. While these drinks give a boost of energy for late-night studying and other activities, the high amount of caffeine can lead to a “crash” as it wears off, along with other side effects like jitters or anxiety

A simple way to still enjoy fun and energizing drinks is to opt for alternatives such as matcha. Matcha tends to have a lower caffeine content than coffee, reducing the chance of side effects. It also contains L-theanine, an amino acid that counters caffeine anxiety. 

If matcha isn’t for you, alternatives include hojicha, another type of green tea that has been roasted, and chicory, a caffeine-free coffee substitute that can be either enjoyed alone or mixed with coffee to reduce caffeine without sacrificing flavor.

7. Dopamine Menus

You may have seen the dopamine menu trend on social media, where people allow themselves to choose from a variety of tasks that give them dopamine—a chemical in our brains that plays a big role in motivation and happiness. Many of these tasks are activities that benefit physical or mental health. This is a good way to live a healthier lifestyle without feeling pressured to uphold a specific habit every single day. 

A common reason resolutions get broken is that people feel like the whole goal is ruined and give up if they mess up on even one day. The concept of a dopamine menu helps solve this problem. The menu can be divided into several categories depending on how long the tasks take. For example, “appetizers” are things that can be done in a few minutes, such as listening to one or two songs or doing quick skincare, while “entrees” can be longer tasks such as reading a book or meeting up with a friend. Activities like these serve as various forms of self-care that can vastly improve your life.

8. Connecting with Nature

Finding small ways to connect with nature is also a good resolution for this year, as spending time outdoors is beneficial for physical and mental health. This can be as simple as walking in a park or sitting outdoors in the sun for a few minutes each day. 

Another manageable idea is to look for easy and relatively flat hiking trails nearby. If you are interested in plants, try finding different types of flowers in a local park or other green space. 

You can also bring a piece of nature into your home by growing the plants yourself. This is a simple and easy hobby that anyone can do, as there are plants suited for all types of environments, both indoors and outdoors. Air plants and lucky bamboo are two low-maintenance plants that don’t even require soil.

9. Time with Friends

Taking time out of your busy schedule to hang out with friends is very important for mental health. It may be hard to find fun yet low-cost ideas of what to do with your friends, but don’t let this deter you from meeting them regularly! Try creative and free activities, such as hosting a PowerPoint night where everyone can present a fun slideshow on any interesting or humorous topic. Another idea is to exchange music recommendations by getting together and creating playlists for one another. Ideas like these allow you to have fun with friends more often, even when you don’t want to spend money.

10. Reward System

A strategy to keep yourself motivated and uphold good habits is creating a reward system for yourself. Rather than sticking to rigid rules where you have to do something once a day, decide on rewards you will give yourself if you complete certain tasks. 

Big or small, rewards can be chosen to fit the difficulty of the task as well as your preferences. Possible ideas include watching an episode of an entertaining show, putting aside extra time to spend on your hobbies, or getting that one makeup product you’ve had your eye on. This system, if you stick to it, can be very effective. Small frequent rewards lead to strong motivation and productivity.

As we start the year, we all want to improve various aspects of our lives and become the best version of ourselves. Using these simple, realistic ideas as goals for 2025 will improve your health, happiness, and productivity. 

What other resolutions do you have? Let us know @HerCampusSJSU!

Hey Her Campus readers, Little Miss Writer here! Think of this page as a personal diary where I share my riveting thoughts and throw in some controversial opinions here and there. I love to delve in current hot topics and write advice columns for my fellow college students. Want to be a part of the fun? Follow @hercampussjsu on Instagram to cast your vote on what you want me to write about! And who am I? That's a secret I'll never tell. You know you love me. xoxo, Little Miss Writer