Self-Care Tips to Get the Semester Started Off Right
The start of the semester is always a stressful time. Hearing our instructors list off all the assignments and exams for the semester is enough to give you an anxiety attack.
As we adjust to a new routine, workload, and perhaps environment, it’s easy – and perfectly natural – to feel overwhelmed and flustered.
In the midst of endeavoring to make our way through a seemingly endless to do list, we often forget to check in with ourselves and prioritize self-care. Yet it’s during these stressful times of transition that self-care is most vital.
Dedicating just a few minutes each day to nourishing our bodies and hearts can go a long way. Simple acts of self-cafe ensure our overall well-being (and sanity!), and often end up boosting our productivity.
Not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered! These four simple yet powerful tips will help you to take a pause, create some spaciousness in your life, and ultimately feel more empowered and grounded.
Tip 1: Keep calm and breathe (deeply!)
Deep breathing exercises are one of the simplest yet most effective ways to get out of our heads, soothe our nerves, and ground ourselves in the present moment. Anytime you catch yourself getting lost in a current of incessant, anxiety inducing thoughts, start to redirect your attention towards your breath.
Try to breathe fully all the way from the belly, and consciously begin to lengthen and deepen each inhalation and exhalation. It may feel good to take deep inhales through the nose followed by long sighs out through the mouth to really feel the release of tension. Just taking five breaths like this can make a world of difference.
If you find yourself feeling too overwhelmed to do this on your own, try a guided breathing exercise, like these ones:
- Mindful breathing (5 mins) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-SFdhVwrVA
- Deep breathing (5 mins) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8emmFOuhxE
- 4-7-8 breathing (4 mins) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Dv-ldGLnIY
Tip 2: Give yourself permission for pleasure
In order to truly be our best selves, it’s so important that we give ourselves time and permission to engage in experiences that bring us joy and delight.
When we feel panic or anxiety, it’s easy to get weighed down by the heaviness of these emotions, which simply ends up breeding more stress. To break this vicious cycle, sometimes we need to thrust ourselves into activities that add some pleasure, laughter and lightness into our days.
This tends to put everything in perspective, and helps us take ourselves a little less seriously.
Take a few minutes to brainstorm some avenues of joy that you can introduce into your life more often. Perhaps there’s that one special movie that invariably makes you laugh so much it hurts. Perhaps spending time in nature sparks joy in your heart. Or perhaps there’s a particular food that brings you a sense of comfort and pleasure – we all have one (for me it’s sticky date pudding!)
Give yourself permission to relish that food!
Tip 3: Plan ahead – to get out of your head
Do you ever feel so overwhelmed by all the tasks you have to get done that you struggle to start at all? If so, you’re definitely not alone!
College students have a lot on their plate. Many of us have to juggle a heavy course load with work responsibilities and family commitments, among other things. The sheer anticipation of all these tasks can cause a lot of stress in itself. This is where time management becomes an essential part of self-care.
By taking a few minutes to plan out our days at the start of each week, we provide ourselves with a plan and framework that help us feel more in control of our lives and our time.
Instead of racing through your to do list and feeling like you have to get everything done at once, can you systematically spread everything out over the week?
Using Google calendars or a daily planner to organize your schedule may seem tedious at first, but I promise it can take a huge load off your chest.
Planning your days with intention can also help you ensure that you’re setting aside enough time for joyful activities, relaxation, and self-care each day. You’ll start the day knowing exactly what needs to get done, and can fully devote your time and energy to the completion of those tasks.
Try to arrange a nice balance of activities for yourself each day if possible, and avoid jamming too many things into one day! On busier days, make sure that you also take care of yourself by allotting slightly more time at the end of the day for a relaxing wind down. This will help you feel rejuvenated and refreshed for the adventures of the next day!
Tip 4: Start small and go step-by-step
I know sometimes it doesn’t feel this way, but I promise you – life is not a race!
The most sustainable changes and habits are the ones that we cultivate with a sense of gentleness and patience. So if your self-care goals involve spending more time walking in nature, for example, don’t feel that you have to do this for a particularly long duration or intense frequency.
Take baby steps towards integrating this positive change into your life. It should never feel tedious or overwhelming – the whole idea of self-care is to find respite from the many other things that make us feel that way!
Make sure that your self-care feels enjoyable and purposeful, rather than like another item on your to do list. Remember that taking just 5 minutes a day still goes a long way, and that you can gradually start to extend the duration of these new behaviors as they start to feel more natural and routine to you.
It can also really help to set the intention of doing only one thing at a time – not just on a physical level, but also a mental one.
What this means is that if you’re taking a walk in nature, commit to being fully engaged in that activity. Every time you catch your mind drifting off to what happened in that episode of the Queen’s Gambit, what you’re going to have for lunch, or when this semester is going to be over, bring your attention back to the present moment.
Allow yourself to take in the colors, smells, and sounds around you. Let nature work its magic of nourishing your soul and refreshing your mind.
You can apply this “presence principle” to pretty much everything you do.
When you’re studying, let yourself be fully engaged with the material before you. When you’re eating, eat as mindfully as possible and pay attention to every taste and texture. Whatever it is, when you focus on doing just one thing at a time, you’ll find that you do that one thing so much better, or experience it with a great deal more depth.
Lastly, if you ever find yourself in need of a reminder that more or less sums up everything discussed here, refer to this powerful mantra (I’m personally so dependent on it that it’s become my phone wallpaper!):
“Note to self: I don’t have to take this day all at once, but rather, one step, one breath, one moment at a time. I am only one person. Things will get done when they get done.”