On Fridays and Saturdays, I can blissfully ignore the fact that weekends aren’t infinite, and I can allow myself to have fun without putting too much pressure on school. On Sundays, however, it always feels like I have too much work to do and too little time to do it. I feel constantly behind, especially if I’ve slept in from the night before. In addition to Sunday being my school catch-up day, it’s also become my laundry, shower and cleaning day, which adds more things to a day that already feels too short. And it doesn’t help that in the fall, there’s always a Packers game where I’ll pretend I’m able to multitask when in reality, I get sucked into the game for three and a half hours and then feel even more behind.
Yesterday was one of these Sundays. As the day progressed, I felt more and more anxious, until it got to the point where I knew I needed to get out of the house for a change of scenery. Sometimes a change of scenery is enough; going to a coffee shop, a library, or one of the Unions and being around other people studying often motivates me to be productive for at least a couple hours. Unfortunately, this was not the case yesterday. It took me almost two hours to read 10 pages of my 20-page reading, and I sat and stared at my computer screen for longer than I care to admit, trying and failing to come up with any ideas for an upcoming essay. Usually, I would force myself to push through the brain fog and just keep going, no matter how long it took, even if it meant staying up late to finish it.
Instead, I closed my laptop, left the library and put on a playlist I found called “Songs to Make You Feel Better” as I walked back home. I even had to roll my eyes a bit looking at some of the songs in the playlist; I didn’t believe that Andy Grammer’s “Keep Your Head Up” or Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy” would actually help, but…they did. So I took my slightly increased mood as a sign to keep doing things that make me happy for the rest of the night.
Spoiler alert: those things did not include homework.
Bullet journaling
I know my life is hectic when I fall behind in my bullet journal, and I hadn’t bullet journaled in months. I needed to take the time to sit down with my favorite episodes of New Girl playing in the background, sketch out some designs and plan out my week in order to finally feel put together again. I knew that organizing my events and assignments would help my productivity in the long run, so I was okay with taking the L on a Sunday study day for the long term W of improved self-care.
Making an actual dinner
Granted, I was just heating up leftover taco fixings from the night before, but still—it felt good to eat something that wasn’t a frozen Trader Joe’s meal (as delicious as they are), but something I made from scratch.
reading for fun
Last year and over the summer, I always had a book with me that I would be reading simply because I wanted to. Reading is a fun, relaxing activity that doesn’t just consist of me staring at a screen, something I do too much of between completing school assignments and checking my phone. But since the start of school, I’ve probably read a grand total of ten pages of my current book. I didn’t read much, but just the experience of diving back into a book was so refreshing, energizing and necessary for my mental health.
journaling
Journaling is usually the last thing I do before I turn off my light and go to sleep, but when I’m busy, stressed, or going to bed late, I tend to let it slide to the back burner. I’ve learned, though, that I need to take those few minutes to reflect on my day, my thoughts and what I’m looking forward to. It’s a way for me to close the chapter of each day and be completely honest with myself.
getting enough sleep
This is crucial. Even though I would’ve loved to stay up late and extend my No Homework day even further, I knew it was more important for me to get good sleep and start the week on the right foot. I’m usually terrible at going to sleep on time, but by proactively choosing to get more sleep, I woke up feeling energized and ready to go.
While I wish self-care days were automatically built into our schedules, this is unfortunately not the case. Chances are, you’re always going to have something you have to do or should do on any given day. In order to take the break you really need, you have to simply decide for yourself when you want to take a self-care day.
If you’re like me and happen to feel overwhelmed on a day where you have no assignments due the next day, that might be the perfect time for you to prioritize what really matters: your mental health. I knew that Future Me would be a little disappointed with Past Me when I opened my essay document and the screen was just as blank as it was when I started. However, my decision was 100% worth it. Whether it’s a whole day, a morning, an afternoon, or an hour—dedicate some time for yourself. You deserve it, and it will pay off in the long run.