At Northwestern, it is incredibly easy to forget about taking care of ourselves. For most college students, there are three categories we aim to balance:  homework, social life, and sleep. It is inevitable that one of these three categories will be sacrificed. Either, we give up sleep to do work all day and go out with friends at night, or we so desperately need sleep one night and have so much homework that we miss the party that night. That’s what life is meant to be like in college. What is unacceptable is that there is not an additional category for putting in the time to properly take care of our mental and physical health.  

In an ideal world, we would be able to balance everything at once; realistically, there is rarely any time for that. So, here are a few quick and easy tips on how to take care of yourself without carving out hours to do so.

1. Drink water right when you wake up. Do it for Ryan Lochte. You know you want to!

2. Don’t check your phone first thing in the morning. Is it really necessary?Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are wonderful, but there is a time and a place for it, and right when you wake up is not it. You do not need to start your day by wondering how many likes you got on your new profile picture. Do not begin your day by concerning yourself with anyone else, but yourself. It has been proven that social media increases anxiety, so stay away from it as much as you can. I am not saying to delete your Facebook, but I am saying to check your priorities. Users spend an average of 6.9 hours a month on social media. Why not trade two of those hours to hang out with friends, or catch up on sleep. Start your day by taking care of yourself. 

3. Stretch. Anytime, anywhere. One of the main reasons working out is so amazing for you is because it stretches the long muscles running down your legs, arms, and torso, which decreases anxiety by releasing endorphins. You can easily do this while you are studying, or hanging out in your room. It is a relaxing way to come into your own body and focus on the current task at hand. Engaging each muscle in your body will make you feel more awake and focused.  Plus, don’t you just want to be this woman?

  

4. Make a to-do list. 

When you are worried about everything you have on your plate, and feel as though there isn’t enough time in each day, a to-do list is a great way to organize your thoughts. Not only can you better make an execution plan, but you will also feel a million times better when you scratch something off that list. This helps you visualize everything you need to do and makes it seem a little more do-able. Having every thought running through your mind written down on one sheet of paper will solidify the thoughts, and it will help you focus on doing one at a time.   

5. Reward yourself. When you scratch an item off your to-do list, reward yourself with a five-minute break to go talk to your friends, or have snack to rejuvenate yourself. Give yourself an end goal. You can do this by laying out exactly what you want to do that night, so that at a definite time, you can go out or go to sleep.  Human beings need to feel that there is a purpose to their hard work, or else they feel sucked into a black hole. These small victories will boost your morale and keep you from feeling helpless when you have too much to do.

6. Skip the extra brownie and cup of coffee. 

This is not about keeping your figure; this is about keeping your sanity.  Sugar and coffee are stimulants that alter your mental state of being.  They give you more energy, and keep you awake during those long nights of studying, but they come with consequences. They are just like alcohol, in that they have a crash, and when you are stressed out that is the last thing you need. It is essential to remain calm and focused when you need to do work, so why wire yourself with so much extra sugar or caffeine? It seems so beautifully cliché to grab some Starbucks on your way to the library, but next time think: is it really worth it?  

7. Eat in peace. 

Stop grabbing a nutrition bar on your way to class. If there is anything to make time for, this is it. Not only will you feel so much better after eating a hearty meal, you can also use this time to relax and be with friends. Go kill those two birds with one stone.   

8. Stay active during the day. 

On a college campus, this seems inevitable, but let’s take it an extra step. We are all guilty of waking up and thinking, "I’ll just go to my first class in pjs and then come back and nap." Just don’t. Use your day efficiently so that at night you don’t feel so overwhelmed. Procrastination is our worst enemy. If you stay out of your room, you won’t be so inclined to take a nap or watch Netflix. Instead, try going to a café, or the library, to get as much work out of the way, as possible Then, you can watch a movie in bed at night without any regrets!  Great tradeoff.   

9. Don't wear sweats. This might sound a bit controversial, but just listen. Sweats are great. Sweats are life. But waking up in the morning and sacrificing getting nicely dressed in order to run to the library does not work. Put yourself first, and make it a priority to properly pamper yourself in the morning. It is pretty much a fact that every person feels better when they feel put together. Allow yourself to feel great every day. Get ready in the morning, aiming to make yourself feel confident and ready to accomplish your tasks for the day. If that outfit so happens to include sweats, power to you; I completely support you. If it doesn’t, give yourself enough time to make yourself feel great before facing the day. This has an additional positive effect -- the longer you are awake in the morning before class wakes you up, the better you can pay attention to the professor.

         

10. Meditate. I know a lot of people are skeptical about meditation. I am not going to tell you it is for everyone. However, I do believe that the theory of meditation can be applied to everyone’s life. The point of meditation is to calm yourself and find inner peace, and everyone does this differently! So everyone can set aside five minutes every day to sit in peace and clear their mind; it will do wonders. We should make it a point to set aside time to refocus on what is truly important, and our mental and physical health should be included in that.

     

While school is our main focus, right now, we cannot let it completely consume us. Remind yourself what you are working for, what your goals, aspirations, and inspirations are, and how you want to achieve those.  This will make you more determined and passionate about what you are doing.