The Ultimate College Self-Care Routine
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Establishing a routine during college can be challenging, especially because of class schedules that change from day to day, exams that all seem to pile up in the same week, and spontaneous late night Cookout runs when you need a milkshake and some cheap food (if you’re from the South). However unpredictable college life can be, it’s important to be intentional about establishing a routine, or “life rhythms”, as I like to call them. In this article, we’ll cover:
Daily and weekly habits to boost your productivity and happiness
Simple practices that take minimal time and care for your body, mind, and soul
Resources to get you started and help you discover how to adapt this routine to your needs
As a highly productive person, it’s difficult for me to slow down and take note of how I’m feeling. Usually, I’m totally fine… until I’m definitely not. Establishing a routine in my busy college schedule has helped me de-stress, have less unexpected breakdowns, and feel productive as soon as I start my day. So let’s get started with the tips below to help you establish your own college self-care routine!
Daily Rhythms:
Make Your Bed (2 min)
The simple action of making your bed in the morning gives a sense of accomplishment that can set the mood for the rest of your day. It only takes a couple of minutes, makes your room appear cleaner, and gives you more confidence to tackle the other tasks of your day.
Stretch (5 min)
Just five minutes of stretching can get your blood flowing and make your body feel more awake. It can also relieve any tension you developed during the day or night.
Drink water
Start drinking lots of water as soon as you wake up in the morning and throughout your day. This can get your metabolism going and promote better body and mind function overall.
“How we spend our days is how we spend our lives”
Read (15 minutes)
I used to never read unless I had to, and I wondered how well-read people could plow through a stack of books so quickly. Now that I’ve added reading to my morning routine, I discovered that you don’t have to read for a long time to make progress. You just have to do it consistently. Fifteen minutes every morning (or night) is a reasonable habit to begin incorporating reading into your routine. The four books below (on Amazon) are a great place to start for college students:
Atomic Habits: a great read to learn how to build good habits and break bad ones
Start with Why: how to be a better leader and inspire others to follow
Boundaries: how to set healthy boundaries with parents, friends, partners, etc.
Nonviolent Communication: how to communicate effectively and with civility during a disagreement (college is full of people you will disagree with ;)
Solitary Silence (15 min)
Sitting in silence by yourself may seem like an odd thing to do, but it can have amazing effects on your clarity of mind. During the day our brain faces constant input from external sources - TV, TikTok, Instagram, lectures, other people - so it’s important to give your mind a rest from constant input and allow time for processing. This improves decision-making ability, lowers stress, and prevents anxiety. People often ask me why I sit in silence in the car - it’s because I’m so used to harnessing my commute time for silent thinking! If you’re a person of faith, this time of silence is also a great time to pray, processing your thoughts and ideas and listening for an answer.
Journaling (15 min)
Like solitary silence, journaling is a great way to process thoughts and emotions, but there’s something about physically writing them that makes them more real and brings a sense of release. Here are two activities to kickstart your journaling time:
Affirmation of the Day: Who we say we are is what we become. Negative thoughts breed negative actions, so writing positive affirmations about yourself is helpful for instilling self-confidence and providing the little boost your need to accomplish something great! Get started with the ones below:
“I am intelligent”
“I am a caring friend”
“I bring success wherever I go”
Gratitude: This is even more important than affirmations. Developing a practice of writing down what you’re thankful for can have huge impacts on your perspective, so remember not to gloss over this part. Every day is a gift.
Exercise (30 min)
Taking care of your body is just as important as taking care of your mind. Perhaps exercising every day may be an unreasonable goal for you at first, but try to start at just three times per week, and build from there. You could go for a run, hit the gym or do a home workout! For my personal home workouts, I enjoy exercising with youtube videos from Madfit and Kukuwa African Dance. Madfit has an enormous library of fun and challenging workouts of different lengths and ability levels. Kukuwa African Dance takes you around the African continent with their diverse dance styles, offering fun dance workouts and positive support! My favorite exercise mat (Amazon) from Body by Yoga. It’s extra long and made of cork, so the more you sweat, the more non-slip it becomes!
Planning (5 min)
Take five minutes each day to plan, and I’m not talking about to-do lists. Start by reminding yourself of your long-term goals, and setting daily goals that help you reach them. Next, move on to your priority actions. What are the three tasks that need to be completed today? Finally, list sub-priorities that you can tackle if time permits. A great planner you can use is this one by Rocketbook (Amazon). You can scan your plans to the cloud and erase them to be used day after day!
Weekly Rhythms:
Planning (10 min)
Similar to daily planning, take ten minutes to set weekly goals and identify priority actions that need to be taken. Set weekly goals with your monthly and long-term goals in mind, and don’t forget to use your Rocketbook (Amazon) to store all of your plans in the cloud and save some trees!
Cleaning (60 min)
Maintaining clean spaces is important for your health, reducing stress, and keeping your roommates happy! Pick a day during the week to organize your bedroom and workspace, do your laundry, clean the bathroom, and tidy up any common spaces if you live in a house or apartment.
Meal Planning (10 min)
If you cook your own meals, meal planning can save you money, eliminate food waste, promote a balanced diet, and save time during the week. Finding a few easy recipes online can help you figure out exactly what you need at the grocery store, so you don’t aimlessly wander over to the cookie dough section because you have no plan.
Do Something You Love (1 day)
Pick a day during the week to rest, recharge, and do something you love. Make time for a hobby, favorite side hustle, a hike with friends, or take a bubble bath and focus on your skin care. Everyone needs a bit of pampering. Here are the most wished for skin care products on Amazon to get you started. Whatever you choose, pick something that excites, relaxes, and recharges you for the week ahead!
This routine is easily adaptable to your lifestyle and preferences, so don’t think you have to include everything or follow the recommended times exactly. This is about building habits that you can maintain. Even if you can only handle working out for five minutes at first, the important thing is to develop a consistent routine, then increase the time as you become more comfortable and confident. As mentioned previously, the book Atomic Habits (Amazon) is an excellent resource to help you get started building any habits you want to incorporate into your routine, including the ones above!
Rhythms keep us grounded. Rhythms make us more effective, happier people.
Let me know how you implement the tips above in your college self-care routine!
