Whether in college or high school, it’s so important to cultivate some semblance of routine. Just to practice self-awareness in general. Before you can be good for anything outside yourself, you need to focus on you.
It is difficult to find the time in a busy schedule to do things just for yourself.
No need to invest more than an hour a day on an embarrassing yoga class or a book club that’s reading something way over your head. Spending time to make yourself happy should be just that. No need to add to your daily stress levels. Here are a few small things you can do right now to boost your energy and attract positive vibes in the world.
Drink Coffee or Tea
The caffeine in coffee and black tea act like an anti-inflammatory so it can de-puff your face and activate your colon, making sure you get regular in a matter of minutes. It is actually really great for people who suffer from respiratory problems, the anti-inflammatory effect helps with chest congestion. If you’ve had a late night, coffee and caffeinated tea can help you clear your sinuses and give you that push to get out the door.
There are pros and cons for both coffee and tea. Their health benefits are not too far apart. People have been drinking tea far longer than they have been consuming coffee. But just the sheer amount of caffeine in coffee versus tea makes coffee the stronger beverage in terms of anti-inflammatory benefits.
Keep Good Handwriting Habits
It is so touching to receive a handwritten letter. Just getting mail that isn’t a bill, in general, is cause for celebration. Your friends and family will feel appreciated. As you grow in life and in a career or personal relationships, your recipients will cherish your correspondence in a physical form. It’s not really a loving memento when a friend sends a text or posts something to your wall. It’s fleeting, and you can’t save it like you can a postcard. The last time a friend kept a text from 3 years ago you probably thought they were a creeper, not ‘romantic’ or ‘thoughtful’.
Volunteer
If getting dirty and building houses isn’t very ‘you’, there are a number of ways to donate your time to a charity or a good cause. Office work, playing with animals waiting to get adopted, even making fliers for a walk/ run for a cause are great ways to get involved. It’s a good way to get to know new people if you’ve just moved to the area. Find a group on campus that you can relate to. Don’t pick a club or a charity because your roommate or a friend wants you to. It will be forced, and that’s the opposite of what you want to be doing.
Get Your Beauty Sleep
So very important to get your rest. You need time to recharge and heal. Even if you find yourself having trouble getting to sleep, just lay down to get off your feet for a few good hours. Think about how much pressure you put on your tootsies, and keep in mind that you are breaking capillaries every day on the soles of your feet, your fingertips, even small vessels in your eyes. Being still and at rest for at least 8 hours is important to recuperation. Plus your skin will look great, no need to treat puffy eyes if you get enough sleep to being with.
Eat More Greens and Root Vegetables
Lush green veggies like kale, mesclun greens, and farmers market lettuces fuel you in ways other food don’t. Amazing benefits to your skin and hair and nails from the vitamins and proteins leafy greens give us. Eat more garlic, ginger and cinnamon. Again, anti-inflammatory foods help the body inside out and also help us fight free radical damage. If you aren’t confident enough to go out on your own to put a meal together, there are a few really smart subscription boxes that can get you started. Just pick the things you like, and get fresh produce and instructions delivered. Depending on your area, there are a few options available to you.
Keep a Pet
It’s more of a stress reliever, but this does also teach us patience and discipline. It also helps us maintain a routine, which is important to have a cycle the body recognizes. When we fall into comfortable routines it makes it easier to maintain healthy habits. Taking care of a pet may not be possible for everyone, it is an added expense. But if you have roommates or your building doesn’t allow pets, start small. A little goldfish or a dwarf hamster needs minimal space and maintenance.
Spend Time Doing Nothing
Setting time aside every day to sit on the couch without your phone may seem like a waste. But scheduling a half hour every day to lay on a lawn chair and pet your napping dog is good for you. John Lennon and Walt Whitman were among those artists who spent the time to do nothing. It seems to free up your mind so you can have better focus later. Don’t worry about feeling guilty or lazy. We all have cycles and you just have to figure out what works for you.
Find Something You Love
It could be something small, like cooking or drawing. You don’t need to devote yourself to becoming an epic artist of some sort. You don’t even need to be any good at it, as long as you enjoy your chosen tasks that’s what matters. Decorate a wall with some of your favorite quotes. You can find free printable art around the web easily. Or put a week’s worth of outfits together. Life is all about the small things we can control. When you do things just to please yourself it changes your mood for the better. It gives us a sense of routine and makes us feel a little bit of power in our lives. Even if it’s something small, like the habits you accumulate doing laundry. Simple things we can focus on are important to conjure a sense of control.
Go for a Walk
Yes, you are a busy person. No, 15 minutes will not kill your schedule. Just walking around the block or a local park can help you destress. The natural sunlight has a positive impact on your mood. It increases serotonin and helps your body balance out things like your sleeping habits and
your appetite.
Make the Bed
If you live in the dorm or you have a whole apartment to yourself, make your bed! It’s one small thing that can help a room look pulled together. You need not spend $400 on fancy sheets, just pick colors and patterns you like. Don’t worry about matching. If you get organized in small spaces, it can impact your working habits for the better. Especially if you live in a dorm with someone else, a tidy space will give you less to focus on. If your roommate is a slob, make a mental note to turn away from that mess that isn’t yours. That way your thoughts don’t linger on the mess around you and you are more focused on that term paper due tomorrow.
Keep Clean Work Areas
If you keep an office, or a designated space for work in your home, it’s so important to keep it minimal. Just keep a tote bag or a collapsible storage box under the desk. This way you can clear space when you have a project to work on. Clean and minimal doesn’t have to mean stark and impersonal.
Add some things like a single flower in a slim vase, or stick a postcard from a friend in the corner of a picture frame.
The goal here is to make space for you to think and work.
Natural Skincare
Skin is the largest organ of the body. It also works just as hard as the liver in absorbing toxins. The thing is that parabens can penetrate the skin and enter your bloodstream. Since more of us are using cosmetics at an early age, not even foundation but just plain moisturizers, these toxins are building up in our bodies. It will help you in the long run and take a moment to look at the ingredient label of your favorite products. If it says ‘proprietary blend’ instead of listing the ingredients, that should be a warning sign. Look for things that say ‘paraben free’. Most US manufacturers are moving away from harsh chemical compounds in favor of natural ingredients.
Instead of using an off the shelf salicylic acid pad for your pimples, try tea tree oil. Swap out your mystery cream for vitamin E oil. You can find these things in the vitamin aisle at your local drugstore. If you find big brand toners very drying, try lemon juice. Just a dab on a cotton ball will do your whole face and neck. Don’t underestimate the power of plain steam. A spa facial once in awhile is great. If you’d like that experience at home, a facial steamer can cost less than $20.
Eat Less Wheat
If you experience frequent heartburn, headaches or joint pain while you are still young it may be related to overall inflammation. If these things are persistent, you should talk to your doctor. Experiencing stress while you are young is pretty common. It’s a transitional time in your life, leaving home and starting to do things on your own for the first time. But making some minor tweaks to your diet can help manage the physical manifestations of stress dramatically.
Our bodies process wheat products like sugar. Sugar breeds the bad sort of bacteria in our gut. It’s where our immune system works the most, producing the good sort of bacteria. It can have a big impact on a lot of things you may not think are related. It can help clear up your skin, improve your sleeping habits and help reduce the acid that can bring about heartburn.
Some seared tofu and Go Veggie cheese alternative with sunflower seeds wrapped in a steamed lettuce leaf
It does seem hard since bread is everywhere. But just reducing your intake can be beneficial. It’s not just about losing weight, although that is a possible side effect. It’s more about leading a healthier life and reducing seditious bacteria in your body. Take off the top bun on a sandwich, or instead of flour tortillas use lettuce leaves as a conveyance for tacos. Small changes can have a big impact in the long run.
Little Things, Big Differences
Just doing at least three things from this list can assist you in your daily routine. Lifestyle changes are not going to happen all at once or overnight. But learning what works for you is all part of growing up and taking charge of your day.
The King said it himself ---
“If things go wrong, don’t go with them”
Elvis Presley knew a thing or two about self-destructive behavior. Be mindful about your own behavior. When things seem to be out of your control, readjust your focus on the things that you can change.
