So, it’s my first blog post for Her Campus, and I’ll admit that it took me an awfully long time to figure out what to write because there’s so many things that I could talk about. But, I came to the conclusion that our mental health is far more important than anything else, especially because it’s the start of the new semester and things are getting a bit hectic. Sometimes, we need to take a step back from everything and focus on ourselves and our mental well-being before anything else.
Last week was a difficult week for me. I was on the brink of collapsing at nearly every moment, and I felt like my brain was on fire, my mind turning to mush because there’s was so much going through my head all at once. I was too absorbed in school and friends and family and the outside world all together, and I wasn’t taking the time to reflect on my how I was feeling inside.
Last night, I stayed up until 2 a.m. (I don’t recommend this) jotting down ideas in my bullet journal (yes, I bullet journal!) that may help limit, or even prevent, my excessive burnouts. I’m tired of coming back to my dorm after being out for 13 hours straight, only to fall asleep without taking my clothes off because I didn’t even have the mental capability of changing or doing anything really for myself.
So, if you’ve ever experienced a mental breakdown or anything related to it, or if you just want your life to feel simple again, or if you’d like to be more productive and have more time in your day, here are some things that may help you.
Limit your to-do list to 3 things
Yes, I understand that sometimes, there’s more than 3 things that need to be done, but if you look at your planner and see 20+ tasks on your to-do list, you might internally freak out just a bit.
So, of course, write out everything you need to do, from the smallest of things to the major things, like showering, painting your nails, finishing your English essay that’s due tomorrow, emailing your professor about something that’s happening next week, and so forth. Then, decide how important each one is, and sort them based on importance.
For example, emailing your professor about something in the upcoming week is not nearly as important as finishing your paper that’s due tomorrow. Take the three most important tasks and that’s your to-do list. For the entire day, only focus on getting those three things complete, and when you’ve finished those tasks, then you can move on. Otherwise, try not to make yourself do too much, because if your mind is focusing on too many things, you’re likely to burn it out, and that’s not fun at all.
Learn how to say “no” sometimes
This might not apply to everyone, but I know that it’s especially difficult for me to say “no” to things, especially when everyone is in our faces saying, “College is the prime time of your life, so get as involved as you can, join lots of clubs, and meet friends, and blah, blah, blah.” It’s all great advice, because surely, we do want to get involved, but sometimes it’s too much and we don’t realize it’s too much until we can barely get up in the morning from absolute exhaustion.
It’s important for us to understand when it’s too much for us. When we return to our room and we finally have alone time for the first time all day, and our friends text us unexpectedly and ask to hang out, we must ask ourselves what is the best for our mental health. It’s so easy to say “yes” because hey, hanging out with friends is fun! But, it might be wiser to use that alone time for something that’ll benefit you in the long run, like meditation, reading or just watching your favorite show. Regardless, always go back to how your mind feels, then go from there. Sometimes, it’s okay to say “no”. Remember: don’t do too much. Be gentle to yourself.
Start meditating/incorporating mindfulness into your daily routine
Sure, meditation is not exactly for everyone, but it really does help. Meditation and mindfulness are basically the arts of silencing your mind and focusing on only the moment given. Oftentimes, we are so concerned with the past, caring heavy chips on our shoulder, or we’re worried about the future, which is silly because the future doesn’t exist yet. Either way, we’re always so obsessed with everything else that’s going on and this present moment is slipping between our fingertips. And, our minds are preoccupied with too many unimportant things, which can cause overloads.
I won’t go into too much about meditation, but I highly recommend that you find some guided videos online, like on YouTube, and start practicing daily. Honest Guys is my absolute favorite channel.
As for mindfulness? Take a few minutes each day to just sit in silence and observe your surroundings. Feel your clothes on your skin, taste the tea that you’re sipping, smell the air around you and just really feel the moment. For those brief moments in time, stop worrying, stop trying to get things done, stop analyzing the past and just live.
When you give your mind a thinking break and focus on the now, rather than things you can’t really control, life will become much more simple.
Ease into a daily routine and stick to it
Speaking of things to do on a daily.
It’s important to have a daily routine, whether it be a ritual every morning or every night, or just having one task to do each day. This is because it gives our lives structure. It’s nice to go with the flow, and realistically you should try to as much as possible, but good habits are great for our minds. But, then again, it’s difficult to jump in all at once, and it could be even more overwhelming for ourselves. So, try to make small, positive changes each day that eventually lead to good habits, such as reading before bed, drinking a cup of tea each afternoon and journaling in the mornings.
Personally, I’m going to drink an entire bottle of water each morning before I even touch my coffee, and then I’m going to meditate for ten minutes, and then I start my day–it’s that simple!
By having structure in your life, you’ll feel more inclined to do more things throughout the day, and you’ll feel a weight being lifted from your chest because you’ll feel less scatterbrained and more organized. I’ve only been implementing structure into my life for a few days, and I already feel much better and more productive.
Also, habits take time to develop, so be patient. Good things come to those who wait, anyways!
Don’t overplan–there’s only so much time in each day
Life is shorter than you think. We only have so much time in one day, one week, one life.
The other day, my friend mentioned something quite fascinating to me. She told me to look at time as if they were blocks. Let’s say that, ideally, I wake up at 7 a.m. and go to bed by 11 p.m.. Every day, I have roughly sixteen blocks to spend. Each time I get food at a dining hall, that’s an entire block. In the mornings when I’m getting ready, that’s about 1 and a half blocks, because I like to do other tasks while I’m getting dressed like say affirmations or watch motivational videos. Each homework assignment is half a block to 1 block, and taking a break and scrolling through your phone could total to be about 3 blocks in a single day! All of this together, including attending class, is nearly 10 blocks. You have about 6 left do do anything else you’d like to do.
This may look overwhelming, but really, it’s all pretty simple. Basically, don’t schedule too much in one day (don’t overwhelm yourself) because when the time comes and you have to cancel plans with someone… well, that’s no fun for either of you.
Make sure you have enough time to get everything done; don’t procrastinate and plan accordingly. And don’t do too much in one day, otherwise you’ll burn out over time.
Hopefully these tips help prevent you from burning out and feeling overwhelmed! Life can get a bit crazy, but life can also be peaceful, simple and fun. It’s up to you, really, on how you spend each day. Ideally, kindness (to yourself, in this case) should always be the answer.
Wishing y’all the best of luck during this new semester!
Probably writing,
Brittney