Go to bed early
I used to stay up until midnight or later almost every night and then get up super early because I was used to it. I was either sitting on my phone, hanging out with friends or watching a TV show that was distracting me from going to bed. None of these things are actually more important than you getting the amount of sleep your body needs. Once I started telling myself to get ready for bed and go lay down, I was happily surprised to fall asleep almost immediately. I had never realized how much my body had wanted to go to bed earlier and I just was not in a routine to make that happen. Now that I aim to go to bed around 10 every night, it is so much easier to get going in the morning and I find that I am even happier and feel more positive than I did before.
Make sure to have enough “Me” time
You may think that prioritizing time with other people is a good thing because it is fun to hang out with friends and go out and do things. What I did not realize until more recently is that staying home and watching a movie, reading a book, playing an instrument, listening to music or just relaxing in general are all highly under-rated uses of time that I have begun to do much more frequently. These are moments you need to give yourself to just exist or do something you really want to do that makes you happy and even relaxes you. The more I allow myself to have brain breaks from school, work and life in general, the more refreshed I feel.
Creating healthy routines
Taking care of yourself mentally is step one. Once you are doing that, you can take some extra time to look at what you are putting in your body and if you are exercising an appropriate amount of time in a given week. Taking the time to prepare healthy meals, create smaller portion sizes and monitoring these aspects of your life consistently will help you feel more energized and refreshed. The better the food you put in your body, the better you will feel. The same goes for getting yourself up and moving. A lot of us stand or walk around a lot for school or work, but taking time at least once a week to go for a walk, run or maybe lift at the gym and intentionally work out is important for your physical health. You may feel exhausted in the moment, but you will release endorphins and have an over satisfaction for how your body is feeling long-term.
Enjoy the little things
This is probably the easiest step. Self-care really is about just enjoying life the way it is, and loving yourself the way you are. Each of the steps above are ways for you to harness that positive mental energy to prioritize yourself in your life. Once you are doing all of these things, you will find it easier than ever to sit back and see all of the good in life. Even when life gets you down, you will be in such a positive routine that it will always help to lift you out of those down times and push through one more day at a time.
