We’ve all been there before at least a couple times in our lives. We move around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to keep up with the world around us. Going to class, completing assignments, work, family, friends, significant others, extracurricular activities; there’s always something we must check off our to-do list. This constant on the go and busy lifestyle can often lead to many of us draining our battery. By that, I mean we become mentally exhausted and we stop caring for ourselves.
Being mentally drained is unhealthy for many obvious reasons. However, I won’t get into that. I will speak on five different ways that you can stop, take a break, and recharge that battery. These tips are essential for everyone because it is important that we all take good care of ourselves. Sometimes, especially us college students, we tend to think being healthy is only on the exterior, but living a healthy lifestyle is much more than that. It’s about taking care of our bodies and our big beautiful brains.
1) Switch Up Your Routine
I know that this is something I personally struggle with myself. Many of us like to have a set routine and despise any kind of change that may alter this beloved daily schedule of ours. While setting routines is nice and provides structure in one’s life, it can also be quite exhausting. You find yourself doing the same things over and over and over, and that just isn’t good for your health.
I’m not saying you should completely throw out your entire routine and go wild or anything, but I am suggesting that you make small little changes to your everyday life, whether it be eating something/somewhere different for breakfast or deciding to try out a new hair style.
2) Meditate for Five Minutes
Meditating isn’t something all people enjoy, whether they either find it useless, hard, or just simply boring. With this though you don’t have to be this yogi master or even sit still for too long. For at least five quick minutes you can do something that brings about peace and relaxation, whether that be journaling, listening to calming music/sounds, or just sitting in complete silence. I encourage you to do something that doesn’t involve any effort or too much thinking. This will help to clear your mind and open up your conscious to mindful thinking.
3) Do What Makes Your Soul Smile
This should be something easy and obvious for everyone to do, but many of us let our busy lives get in the way of doing things that bring us joy. So, I advise taking a couple of hours or maybe even a whole day to yourself to just recharge and regroup. If what makes you happy is going out on a shopping spree or having a self-care/beauty day, then do that. If going to work out at the gym or going for a hike brings you positive energy, then do that. If you’re like me and prefer to be a couch potato and do absolutely nothing, then do just that! Do the things that make you feel good, and once you start feeling good, that battery life will slowly make its way back to 100%.
4) Remember to Breathe
This is another one that should be common knowledge because who’s just walking around not breathing, right? You would be surprised by how many of us go about our days with so much tension and stress within our bodies. Most of the time we don’t even realize that we are so tensed up because we are too busy being on the go.
This tip is for everyone, but it is especially for those who may just simply not have the time to sit and meditate or take days off for themselves. With this, I just encourage everyone to take a few seconds to slow down a bit, breathe in and out a couple of times, and then relax their bodies. Shake away any tension, keep exhaling any stress, and then move on with your day.
5) Speak Kindly to Yourself
I also find myself battling with this one as well. Often, when life is just moving so fast and you feel so overwhelmed by everyone and everything, you tend to speak negatively to yourself. You tend to want to put out negative energy and words into your atmosphere which is not healthy.
Instead of speaking negatively by saying things such as, “I can’t do this,” “I’ll never be able to get this work done,” or “Today is going to be bad because I am so busy,” speak more kindly and positively to yourself. You can instead say things such as, “I can do this, it just takes effort,” “I’ll finish this work eventually,” and “Today will be busy, but I’ll make the most of it.”