College can be an extremely busy time and in all of the bustle of college, it can be easy to forget to put yourself first. We get caught in making sure we have all of our obligations complete that we completely put taking care of ourselves on the back burner. But that needs to stop. We gotta start prioritizing taking care of ourselves.
It’s Important For Your Physical Health
This seems like it would be obvious, but I am definitely guilty in putting my health and my feelings on the back burner to complete some work. Everyone is guilty of ignoring their mental or physical symptoms of being too tired, sick, etc. and it’s gotta stop. Taking care of yourself is just as important as any other work you have to do so stop pretending it isn’t.
You’ll Be More Productive Later On
There is no point in working when you are sick or feeling depressed. It’s kind of counterproductive. You’ll be in a better place to tackle your work if you just take care of yourself now. And it’s not like that work will magically disappear soon. It will be there when you are ready to complete it so just put it down and get better.
It’s Important For Your Mental Health
It’s a pretty well known fact that college students experience at least some anxiety and/or depression during the 4+ years of college. So taking care of yourself doesn’t just have to physically, it can and should be mentally. Taking care of yourself mentally can include things like meditation, yoga, coloring, or knitting. As long as you step back and chill out for a while.
It Can Be Fun
Taking care of yourself doesn’t have to suck. It can be fun, so why are you stopping yourself? Treat yourself to a fun day where you aren’t worried about work. Or spend a day catching up on all of the shows you want to watch. Any of these tasks are great for your mental health so by treating yourself you are taking care of yourself. So don’t feel guilty for doing so.
You Don’t Want To Burnout
Burnout is real. And if you push yourself past your physical and mental limits, you’ll burnout. It’s inevitable. You need to set aside time for yourself to prevent burnout. Resting and recharging is so important to prevent burnout. No one can keep going and going all the time, even if it seems like it. So accept that it’s okay to need to time recharge and take that time.