College is hands-down one of the craziest, funnest, and sometimes the most confusing stage in someone's life. Therefore, the last thing on a college student's mind is getting their life together. This is our last hoorah, our chance to find ourselves, make mistakes, try new things, and get into a little trouble before we have to enter the next stage of grad school, job interviews, or maybe even a gap year (because it's okay to not have it all figured out right after graduation). However, there are a few things out there that we probably should already have in order as college students, and will definitely want to make a habit of as soon as we graduate.
They say it takes about 21 days to begin to form a habit, so we all have plenty of time before graduation to start developing habits that will make our next stage of life a little easier, whatever that stage may be. That's why people take AP classes or work jobs throughout high school, right? To have that security or extra-boost that will make life a little easier. Here are 5 habits that college students will only benefit from by adding them to their routine now.
1. Washing your bedsheets every 1-2 weeks
You gotta do it! Your skin and hair will thank you. Mom won't magically appear in your dorm room every time your sheets get dirty, and she definitely won't be happy if she finds out you haven't washed them in 1-2 months. If you're not in the habit already of washing your sheets on a regular schedule, it'll help to form this habit now. They really do need to be washed more often than you think.
2. Deleting E-mails
Emails can clutter your inbox at lightning speed. It seems as though every time you delete one email, a dozen more flood in. Get in the habit of deleting emails as soon as you read them and decide you don't need them anymore. Pretty soon you'll be doing so without thinking twice, and won't be at risk for losing any important emails in a sea of junk mail.
3. Saving Money
Saving money is hard. Trust me, I know. But if your savings account is collecting cobwebs (or better yet, you don't even have one), you'll want to get on that, because if you have student loans, you'll want to make sure you're prepared to be making those payments. You'll need money for food, WiFi, a phone bill, etc., depending on whether you're moving back home for a bit or venturing out on your own. Having a monetary cushion will help you feel more stabilized, and if you start saving money now, it'll be a habit by the time you start working. Saving money can be as simple as putting away every 5 dollar bill you receive to depositing 20% of every paycheck into your savings right away.
4. Washing dishes soon after you use them
No, you don't have to wash them right after you eat or drink out of them, but getting in the habit of washing them soon after you use them will only benefit you. Letting them build up in your room doesn't create the best environment for you or your roommate, and if you don't make the effort to change your messy ways now, then it's going to be even more difficult when you're too worried about bills and your job to be cleaning up a huge mess.
5. Actively using a planner
I'm a fan of written planners, but ones on your phone are acceptable as well. Actively writing and consulting a planner will ensure you won't miss any important dates, notes or assignments in college. Get in the habit of planning out your weeks in advance now so it'll become second nature later. I'm anticipating that life only gets more hectic and busy from here, so you'll want to make sure you have a planner and are using it well to actively manage your own life.
If you're already in the habit of doing all or most of these things, then hats off to you. Your life is way more put together than mine.
