If you’re anything like me, it has become way too easy to spend your entire night doing homework or studying. While this can seem beneficial and nearly impressive from the outside looking in, this can be a really dangerous zone. The biggest thing I have had to teach myself this year more than ever is that college won’t come back. We will have our entire lives to worry and work, but college really is the last time in our lives that it is socially acceptable to sometimes ‘act like a kid’. Doing silly things and taking advantage of the things that make you laugh are so important. I have started to realize that I really don’t have hobbies anymore. I work, I go to school, I do homework, and I sleep. I constantly have to remind myself and my friends that it is not just important, but crucial, to take a break and have fun. Finding balance is the most difficult task I have come across in college thus far. A big part in finding this balance is realizing that even the littlest things are helpful to our mental health and our self care. Even if these things only occur once a week, it gives yourself something to look forward to and a break to reset!
- Have a concert in the shower
- Set aside an hour a week to watch a new binge-worthy show
- Bake cookies
- Read a few pages out of a new book every night
- Declutter your study space
- Buy a color book
- Spend a few minutes on the treadmill or bike in the gym
- Create a morning routine
- Listen to a new podcast while heading to class
- Write 10 things you’re thankful for
- Detox your social media feeds
- Set a time that you are forced to stop doing homework and go to sleep
- Go for a walk
- Make sure you are eating meals
- Watch your favorite childhood movie
- Take a bubble bath
- Order takeout with your best friend
- Go window shopping
- Tidy your space
- Make your bed every morning