What do you do when the craziness of every day life becomes a little too overwhelming and you’re feeling totally out of control? Throw away that bag of chips you’re about to stress eat and don’t start that procrastination Netflix series just yet! Simply take a step back, breathe, identify the stresses in your life and implement a self-care routine.
Self-care is an important part of every day for maintaining control and personal sanity. It is simply the act of finding what clears your mind from daily stresses, allowing you to reconnect with yourself.
Do you want to know what the best part is? It doesn’t require spending a single penny or using up a large chunk of time from your day! Self-care is just as important in college as it is when you make it out into the professional world. Here’s a list of simple things you can do throughout the day to practice self-care and keep those stress levels low!
The basics (I’m sure you’ve heard these a million times but they’re SO important!)
1. Get in those 6-8 hours of ZZZ, girl!
2. Sip on that H2O all day. Hydrate for the hair, skin, and nails
3. Take a brisk walk, do those squats, and get that heart rate up
The not so basics (but equally as important)
1. Give yourself a 30-second genuine smile in the mirror and identify three things you adore about yourself before brushing away that morning breath. Confidence is key!
2. Journal about your stresses, identify why they’re high priority and implement a plan to eliminate them. Identifying and naming problems are always the first step to fixing them.
3. Take a few minutes at the end of the day to compliment yourself on all the small things you accomplished. Did you knock out that research paper? Good job! Did you participate in classroom discussion? Nice! Did you take out the trash? Great! Every little bit of effort you put in, makes you a better version of yourself. Recognize that!
Maintaining control in your life and being self-aware stems from the amount of care you spend on yourself. You always get out what you put into things, so make sure you are your biggest investment!