The life of a college student is riddled with piles of assignments, part-time jobs, and hectic social life to boot! Away from the support system of the family and friends you’ve known for years, it is important to take some time out and take optimum care of yourself and have a self-care routine.
Pamper sessions and off-days shouldn’t be a once-in-a-blue-moon affair with ritualistic connotations. Self-care should be a part of your daily or weekly routines, just like studying or working. It is essential to lavish some care and attention on yourself and has a self-care routine, so you feel rejuvenated and motivated to go about your week instead of drudging through it.
Practice these self-care routine control of your life and always bring your A-game.
1. Sporadic Social Media Detox
Students, especially in college, spend so much time on social media- often comparing their lives to those portrayed by others on Instagram- they end up overcompensating in every sphere to meet up with social media expectations.
Putting up Instagram stories of studying late into the night, working on your laptop at the fancy cafe, eating ‘aesthetically pleasing’ food, partying hard every week- such expectations create tremendous pressure and make for an extremely toxic state of mind. Detoxing from social media will help de-clutter your brain and refresh you, making you feel more at peace with yourself.
You could take a couple of days off social media every month, or maybe designate a day of the week as a ‘no social-media’ day, so you can figure-out and indulge in things you enjoy doing, rather than just doing it for social cred fuelled by FOMO.
2. Pamper Day
Dedicate a day to pamper yourself and de-stress from the week. Take a long bath- switch on some upbeat music while you’re in the shower and wash away the stress of the week.
You could indulge in an extended skincare routine, including exfoliating and DIY masking. Get your hands on a sheet mask if you can, and feel your soul go to a happy place!
Skincare is a sure-fire way to make yourself feel better, irrespective of your gender, as you physically take care of and validate yourself. Do a movie marathon, or re-watch legendary football matches. Pamper days are important to make yourself feel loved and cared for, amidst all the hustle.
3. Binge on a TV show
Watch a wholesome and feel-good TV series or guilty pleasure from your teens. Old (and often trashy) YAfantasy dramas, possibly-cringy chick-flicks, and relatable sitcoms are a particularly good choice.
4. Meditate
Meditate to focus, re-evaluate, and get into a better frame of mind. This will help you retain more information and approach your academics with a positive outlook.
5. Cleanse your Space
A cluttered and disorganized room will make you unproductive and feel frustrated. Your space is an extension of yourself, and it tends to mirror the state of your mind.
A cluttered and claustrophobic room would make you feel confused and overwhelmed. Especially when you are staying at a hostel, cleaning or personalizing your space will give you a sense of ownership, and the comfort of ‘home’.
The physical act of cleaning your room will also help you feel like you are taking the onus of your life and organizing it. Set sometime aside every week to organize and cleanse your space feel revitalized and usher in positivity in life.
6. Create a Routine
Having a routine helps you remain focused. It trains your brain to get more work done effectively as it gets used to the loop of activities.
Putting everything down in an organized fashion and do-able chunks (even better if it’s on paper instead of on your phone), will not only give you a tangible idea of what you need to do, it also holds you accountable to get it done.
Nothing is more satisfying than physically scratching out an activity on your To-Do List once you are done with it. Make sure the routine does not just include your classes and work, but also your fun activities and me-time!
7. Eat Healthy
Eat clean and healthy to feel good from within. Include lots of colorful and vitamin-rich vegetables in your diet, and avoid sugar, processed food, or grease.
Eating out regularly while in college is not only extremely unhealthy but also a disaster for the ever-depleting bank balance.
You could save some money and invest in some basic-grocery and fresh seasonal fruits or vegetables, and cook yourself a meal.
We usually associate cooking with something our mums toiled over at home, but making yourself something healthy (and occasionally indulgent), can be extremely therapeutic. You could cook along to a YouTube recipe video, or create your concoction!
8. Hydrate.
Drink lots of water, fresh fruit or vegetable juices, or tea (without added piles of sugar, of course) to clean your system, and get a glow from within.
Drink a cup of warm water (maybe with a slice of lemon, if you are feeling fancy) to start the day- it’ll help you feel alert, and the water will also boost your metabolism.
You have possibly heard this advice a thousand times before, possibly from your mother yelling after you to drink your eight glasses a day or scolding you for not finishing your bottle in school, but keeping yourself is definitely one of the best things you could be doing for your body.
9. Exercise
Exercise to get yourself in shape and improve your self-esteem. It need not be extreme, but even going for a walk or run regularly will help you feel better.
10. Be a Plant-Mommy
Introduce some greenery into your personal space. Not only do the plants brighten up your space and make it feel homely, but they also literally breathe some life into it. Tending to plants and watching them grow will give you a sense of ‘purpose’ and responsibility, and is a great alternative for a conventional pet while living in dorms.