With the spring semester starting in earnest, students may feel overwhelmed and completely swamped with what they have to work on. Students are already working very hard to ensure that their assignments are completed on time. Generally speaking, students should not procrastinate and relax to the point that they do not get their work completed. However, students should practice self-care and give themselves time to destress from the world around them. In order to accomplish this, here are a few tips that may help this come easier.
- Work It Into Your Schedule
Perhaps the best way to start taking care of yourself in relation to your homework is to simply write it into your schedule. Many people write their entire schedule in their calendars to keep track of their school or work endeavors, so it makes perfect sense for them to also add scheduled time for themselves. SNU student, Brisa Lopez, talked about how she “scheduled it into her life” to make sure she takes time to do certain things away from homework, such as going to the gym or taking time to herself to “brain rot.” Taking the extra time to make sure that these periods are worked into life can go a long way in aiding your mental health and making sure that homework gets done on time.
- Know What Helps You Relax
Everyone has hobbies or things that they enjoy doing in their downtime, and these activities could help you relax. When talking to SNU student, Josiah Abraham, he expressed multiple methods he uses to destress, ranging from listening, singing, music, gaming, and to talking to the most important people in his life, such as God and his girlfriend. Abraham encouraged students to “be in the community as much as possible.” This is not to say that everyone relaxes through interacting with people but instead that the most important aspect of this tip is to know yourself and understand what helps you calm down away from schoolwork.
- Use Downtime Wisely to Refocus
Speaking from experience, I have had a few cases of needing to take time for myself, taking that time, and then becoming too distracted and unmotivated to continue my homework for the day. Setting a time limit for yourself during this period is something that may help, allowing yourself to not lose track of time and lose the will to finish the work that you started. Taking a break from assignments to chill out is wise, but it is important to remember that that time is a break and not something to do for the rest of the day.
In essence, following these particular instructions can help remind students to practice self-care while still managing to get work done. Even something as simple as taking a mental break for yourself and walking around campus for 15 minutes can go a long way in maintaining stress levels throughout the year. Taking the time that you need for yourself can go a long way in having a more enjoyable semester, and thus, a better college experience.