It’s that time of the semester when all you really want to do is take a nap. Or eat bad junk food and re-watch all of Stranger Things. Or maybe your desire to procrastinate is so fierce that you’d rather clean your entire apartment, train for a marathon, go down a Wikipedia rabbit hole, or just lay down and cry before you even think about touching your homework.
It’s easy to let all the stresses of being in college pile up until you feel just done. But bad feelings don’t last forever, and you don’t have to let your bad feelings manifest as bad days.
An appreciation for life’s simple joys can truly make all the difference. Here are five simple ways to say goodbye to stress and hello to a whole new day.
1. Drink water
Your brain needs to be hydrated. Not only will you be able to function a lot better while getting through your daily to-do list but you’ll also feel a hundred times better if you drink enough water throughout the day. Keeping up with H2O will help you feel more energized, prevent headaches, and flush all the bad stuff out of your body.
2. Clean a small part of your apartment
It’s high time to put away your clean laundry, reorganize your book shelf, or load up the dishwasher. If your direct line of sight shows a small mess, get up and fix it! You don’t have to clean everything, but just tidying up a small part of your home will make you feel instantly more at ease.
3. Throw things away
Get a big garbage bag and fill it with expired food in your fridge, all the empty shampoo bottles in your shower, old makeup, worn out socks, and everything else that you don’t need in your life anymore. Take out the old and make space for the new.
4. Wear your favorite shirt/sweater/etc.
My most favorite t-shirt in the whole wide world was once shrunk in the wash, has a hole in one sleeve, and has slightly peeling iron-letters on the back, and I freaking love it. It is probably the comfiest thing I own, and I just feel so cozy whenever I put it on. Beloved and worn clothes are the adult version of stuffed animals and night lights and all the things that made us happy as kids. So throw on your favorite shirt and go seize the day.
5. Walk around the block
…or to your neighborhood coffee shop, or to class, or even to the mailbox at the front of your apartment complex. The important thing is that you get outside and get moving. Michelle Obama once said: “It is so important for you guys to get exercise on a regular basis.” Listen to her. She knows everything.
