7 Small Changes to Brighten Up Your Week
As college students, we tend to get caught up in our social lives and schoolwork — so caught up that we sometimes neglect to care for ourselves. It’s important to manage our time and activities, even the small ones. Below is a list of some easy changes to make in your daily routine to brighten up your mood and whole week.
Wake Up Earlier
This may be the hardest task on the list because who doesn’t enjoy sleeping in? But studies have found that getting up earlier increases productivity and decreases stress levels.
Getting up early gives you more time to get things done. Depending on how much earlier you wake up, you could squeeze in a workout, a nice breakfast or some extra studying. Overall, getting up earlier promotes a healthier way of living.
Meditate
The best form of self-reflection is meditation. Whether you do it for an hour or just ten minutes, meditating is a great way to start out each day. As college students, we all need some time to focus on ourselves and a quick morning meditation is the best way to do that. Not a big fan of meditating? Yoga works as a form of meditation too — it centers your body and mind to improve both physical and mental health.
Enjoy Breakfast
It’s always convenient to rush out the door with a granola bar to snack on and call that breakfast, but doing this every morning is poor nutrition and can lead to a less energized day. Making time for breakfast can be a game-changer so start the day off right and treat yourself to some avocado toast or scrambled eggs.
Workout
Working out doesn’t always mean heading to the gym for a heavy weightlifting session. Instead, try activities that will get your heart pumping and your body moving. Take a short walk all over campus or grab a few friends and join an intramural team or club. The hardest part of working out is motivating yourself beforehand but you’ll definitely be thanking yourself after.
Volunteer
It might be hard to do this every day, but volunteering once a week is sure to make both you and others feel better. Even assisting friends with small tasks, such as heading to the grocery store or cleaning their room, would brighten both of your days!
Journaling
Keeping a journal to self-reflect is a great way to organize your life and thoughts. If you want to journal in the mornings, you can make a list of what goals you need to accomplish or what you had for breakfast. At night, recap your day and what you’ve learned from it or add inspirational quotes and little doodles.
Take the Night Off
It’s good to slow down every once in awhile and focus completely on yourself. Put down the homework assignments and do something you love: read a book, tidy up and redecorate your room, learn how to craft through Pinterest or bake a cake. “You time” can be accomplished by anything that makes your soul happy.