Being a student is, for some, the busiest time of their life. Juggling a social life, academic studies, a part time job and your general mental health is something a lot of students struggle to do. Many people feel as if they’re drowning in what life throws at them—but in order to thrive in the fast-paced life of a student, personal care is what enables you to keep going. Self-care is essential to being at your best for all aspects of life, and below are the five best tips for doing just that.
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Setting Aside ‘Me-Time’
As students studying a Graduate Diploma of Psychology know, ensuring you have alone-time is a great way to keep you centered. Hobbies and maintenance days being the most ideal way to really take care of yourself, there’s nothing wrong with a small chunk of time before bed or in the morning for just yourself. Some quick ways to do this include; a quick yoga session in the morning, nightly reading in bed, putting in that extra effort in cooking your dinner or even just lying down with your eyes closed and going over the day in your head.
Being in such a fast paced world can be more than overwhelming, but making sure you have ‘me-time’ everyday, no matter how much, can be the difference you need getting through the week.
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Keep A Personalised Routine
There is no ‘student routine’ that fits everyone, with your schedules constantly changing, with financial constraints and just general lack of energy, it can be quite hard keeping up healthy habits and staying consistent. Instead of beating yourself up over what you can’t do, the best way to make a personalised routine is giving yourself options, and working around your hardest tasks of the day. Instead of planning out a day routine, it may work better if you make a weekly routine, giving yourself rest at the end of each day.
For example, Mondays could be maintenance days, that could be for personal care, cleaning the house, tending to your plants, grocery shopping, etc. There is never any pressure to do anything after a long day of classes and work, so leaving the essential tasks for slow weekends or days off may be the best time management plan for your wellbeing.
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Social Events Must Stay On Your Schedule
It’s hard to keep up with friends, as schedules don’t align, or on the days you are free, you just don’t feel up to seeing anyone. While it’s best for you to listen to your body and mind, it’s also crucial to incorporate something social at least a few times a week. The importance of keeping in touch with family and friends is great as it impacts our general mental health without us realising it.
Being too tired to go out for dinner doesn’t mean you can’t phone them up and chat about your lives while you take a relaxing bath, or if you find yourself not catching up with friends because you need to study, you could ask if they’d like to join you. Just being in someone’s presence makes a big difference in your mood and overall well-being, making it a crucial part of our everyday lives that must be catered for.
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Get Active (Not Just Going for a Run)
If you’re someone who’s able to hit the gym, run, or get to those dance classes a few times a week, the only thing you need to know is that you should keep those activities a priority.
But if you’re someone who’s finding it difficult to make time to move your body, that’s okay too. Getting active doesn’t always mean going to the gym, your active part of the day could be stretching in the morning, or walking to your campus from the station instead of taking the tram. It could be making the mindful decision that maybe you should walk to the places you need to go instead of taking a quick bus or tram a few mins down the road. While this may not easily fit into your schedule, it’s adopting the mentality of finding exercise in your everyday life, no matter how small, that could make you feel just that little bit better.
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Eating Well
As a student, there is nothing harder than keeping a healthy diet, with finances being a big factor of why you may not achieve this. A good, cost effective way to keep healthier foods in your diet is picking a few easy recipes and incorporating them in your diet weekly. Meal prepping for the week is also a great way to eat healthy with a busy student schedule.
Balancing student life demands prioritising self-care, which includes setting aside ‘me-time,’ maintaining a personalised routine, socialising, staying active, and eating well to thrive amidst academic, social, and work commitments.
