Winter quarter is here and it couldn’t look more different than fall. With classes being online for the first month and a lot of “he said/she said” happening within school right now, it’s important to stay aware of your surroundings and connected to yourself as you navigate the confusion of this quarter. Here are a few ideas for keeping things fresh and uplifting this quarter.
Self Care Sundays
This is exactly what it sounds like. Self-care Sundays, or any day of the week you like, is time set aside for you to do something for yourself that benefits your overall well-being. This can be putting on a face mask, cleaning your room, or staring at the ceiling and listening to your favorite playlist. Whatever you feel is best for you and your peace of mind — do it. Picking a certain day of the week like Sunday helps to build a routine as well as gives you something to look forward to, which could really be needed in a time of limited social interactions such as this.
A good planner or scheduling system
I don’t know about you, but I’m a planner person. I tend to keep at least two planners at any given time and I firmly believe in the power they hold to create order and unity in your life. Keeping a planner might be more important now more than ever with classes, as professors still somehow don’t know how to use Canvas and dates get thrown around and confused together so easily that missing an assignment seems inevitable. Whether you’re a paper and pen type of person or a digital planner type of gal, there are so many options out there. I have personally been loving Notion, and of course, cannot live without Google Calendar.
Thermometer and vitamins
This point is brought to you by someone who just had to buy a thermometer. I know it may seem a little redundant after two years of being in a global pandemic; however, stocking up on vitamins and making sure you have all those supplies for if you ever do you feel under the weather is an absolute necessity. I don’t need to go into all the details and scientific spirals that is the highly contagious Omicron variant, but continue to be safe and protect yourself.
An indoor hobby
I’m sure in early 2020 you might’ve picked up knitting, candle making, shoe painting, or any of the 1000 things you can do from home, and I’m sure you missed doing those things when life went back to semi-normal last quarter. Well now is your time to shine with those cool indoor hobbies. Being inside on Zoom University is draining at the least and soul-sucking at most, but having that hobby to pick up after class, at the end of the day, or whenever you need a little bit of a pick-me-up in a stressful time will really come in clutch.
This list is by no means exhaustive but just a few examples of how you can bring some good, healthy vibes into the winter quarter. I hope this is a good one for you and you can stay safe.