College students: 3 great ways to take time for yourself
One of the biggest struggles that I have faced in college was feeling overwhelmed. As a freshman, I constantly felt like every day I was on a strict schedule that I couldn’t break away from if I were to complete everything that needed to be completed for that day. While in college I have had two part-time jobs, full class schedules every semester, and have been involved within my sorority.
Most days my schedule consisted of work, hurrying to eat lunch, class, homework, hurrying to dinner, and then either more work, homework, or meetings. I was going out of my mind and started to feel really unhappy. Until one day I made myself take a step back from this stress creating cycle and realized why I always felt so over worked and exhausted. Here are 3 good habits I’ve found really help me take time for myself.
Me first
I recognized that I was never taking time just to focus on myself and my well-being. Everyone needs to take time out of their day to check back in with themselves and do activities that make them happy. Whether that activity is talking with friends, calling home, watching a movie, reading a book, or working out, there is something out there for everyone.
I found mine recently in Hot Yoga. I danced all growing up so it was weird coming to college and not continuing that part of my life. I no longer had that daily exercise and outlet for my emotions. I have now found both of those qualities in doing Hot Yoga. It feels amazing to take just one hour of my day and work towards becoming a healthier and happier version of myself. I highly encourage everyone to find this for themselves and just watch what a difference it makes in your outlook on every day.
Tory enjoys Hot Yoga sessions for self-care.
Timing it out
The second realization was that I needed to be more organized about my time. I was really bad about jumping from one task to another and always rushing to get to places because time got away from me. I have started to organize my time by making a list in my notes app on my phone scheduling out my day and what I need to get done. I try to put all the tasks in order of how I need to complete them.
If a task has a time limit on it, like work from 2-4 pm, I put the times so I know everything above that needs to be completed by that time. This has helped me by giving me a visual representation of my day and has stopped me from feeling so overwhelmed. By being able to actually see what I have to get done instead of keeping a list in my head I am able to have better time management. I also feel a certain type of satisfaction from marking off a completed task. Everyone needs to take value in their time and find the best way to space your day out because your time is valuable and doesn’t deserve to be wasted.
It’s ok to say ‘no’
The third and hardest realization to take in for me was realizing that I needed to learn how to say “NO.” Blame it on my southern roots and personality, but I am a people pleaser that takes pride in being able to lend a helping hand. However, I have come to realize that I cannot do everything and help everyone. A big goal of mine for this year was to start prioritizing myself more. Which sounds weird and conceited, but it’s not.
Everyone should always make sure that they have helped and cared for themselves before giving that care to help someone else. If you have not completed studying or whatever your main goal was for that day, it is okay to say “no I am sorry. I wish I could help, but I really need to get this done.” People will understand and you’re not a bad person for doing this. The realization of this was a big pill for me to swallow and is still something I have to remind myself of everyday. There is only so much you and your energy that can go around, so make sure the person that is getting most of that is yourself.
The moral of this story is that you are important and deserve to be looked after, so make sure that you are doing that for yourself. Be selfish, to an extent. Take time to check on yourself, realize that your time has value, and determine where that value should go.
About the author
Tory Harless
Tory Harless is a student at The University of Mississippi majoring in Marketing with an emphasis in Sales and minor in Entrepreneurship. She is from League City, TX, about 30 minutes south of Houston. She is very involved with her sorority Phi Mu and is the Pearson Campus Ambassador at Ole Miss.
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