In college we often find ourselves creating a lot of really bad habits—like going out too much, eating a lot of junk food, and avoiding working out. Creating healthy habits and sticking to them is so much harder than the way bad habits make their way into our lives. It's super important to form healthy habits now while we have the time, even though it feels like we have a million things to do at all times right now honestly this is probably the most free time we will have for the rest of our lives. Because after these four years our lives will be filled with days longer than we can even imagine right now (seriously, I dread the 9-5 schedule already). These are several habits that we should start to make before it's too late.
1. Wake Up Early
Waking up early gives you time to sit in bed and drink a cup of coffee, write in your journal, eat a real breakfast, and maybe even exercise. Starting your day on the right foot instead of rolling out of bed and running out of the door with only five minutes to spare will make you feel so much better about yourself.
2. Set Goals and Write
Like I mentioned in the previous habit, waking up early provides you extra time in the mornings to reflect on your life, on the day you had, what you want to do. Along with writing more, it is so important to set goals. We all set goals in our heads for times later in life, but it is important to set goals for the day, week, month, and year. Setting goals puts you one step ahead of everyone else and one step closer to success.
3. Spend Time Outside and Take More Pictures
Spending time outside is something I'm beginning to enjoy more and more. I am lucky enough to go to college in a town where I am surrounded by so many different scenic areas— fields, a lake, mountains. Spend more time outside while you can and take pictures of the sunsets. Have picnics, jump in the lake with your friends, do things you wouldn't normally do just because.
4. Make Connections
If you haven't learned by now, everything is about who you know. Making connections is important now because the more connections you have now the more opportunities you have in the future.
5. Learn to Cook and Drink More Water
This is important because let's face it, as much as I would like hotdogs and frozen fish sticks everyday, that won't cut it for meals every day when I'm an adult in the real world. Seriously though, drink more water. It makes you prettier.
Just being ambitious on this Friday night as I'm writing this, I am hoping that writing these down and suggesting them to you will help me do them as well.