By Jacob Cornell
Graphic By Maya Uribe
With Midterms now in the books, it is time to gear up for the home stretch and finish strong!
But what if you are already feeling like you are running out of gas with the second half to go? Sure, you will finish the semester—but at the expense of your personal well being?
When we think of personal wellness, our minds often go straight towards diet and exercise. Rightly so! However, there are some other practical, but important, things that we can focus on that are outside of those two domains.
Here are five things, not related to the obvious diet and exercise, to keep in mind to help maintain and/or restore your personal wellness during these final weeks of the semester.
Take Deep Breaths
Taking deep breaths can help reduce stress and anxiety while improving focus, muscle relaxation, and the ability to fall asleep faster. This is something so practical that you can literally pause from reading this article right this moment and take 10 deep breaths. Be sure to inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth and take your time in doing so. Remember to breathe deep. Assuming you have just done that, how do you feel? Even if it is just 1% better, then consider it time well spent. If it helps keep you centered, you can close your eyes and imagine a beautiful place while doing so. Speaking of beautiful places…
Go Outside
The benefits of being outdoors are well documented. Note, this does not have to be a day-long excursion. We are all busy and up to our necks in homework. However, even a short 10 minute walk can make a significant difference. Being students at CI, our campus is so close to the Pacific Ocean—how fortunate we are! A place I would recommend for a quick sunset trip is the Sandy Dune on the land side of Pacific Coast Highway, just south of Thornhill Broome Beach. This is a short 15 minute drive from campus. Walk to the middle of the dune (or the top for an optimal view) and take in all the sights and sounds that this beautiful area has to offer.
Take Some Time For Yourself
It is easy during the school semester to become a workhorse and lose track of your own needs. This is why it is so vital to be intentional about making time for yourself. Again, this does not have to be an extended event. A solid 30 minutes to an hour would be a great start. The key word is intentional. Be intentional. Set a timer if you have to and say to yourself, “This time is for me.” Go read a couple of chapters in that book you have been wanting to read or beat that level in the video game you have been playing. Whatever it is, just be about that for whatever period of time you set for yourself.
Make Lists
Now this might sound like something that would be listed in an article written about how to be productive, not a self care article. The reality is that we are students with a lot on our plates. If we do not manage that, that is only going to add to our stress levels. I have found that making lists is not just a great way to stay organized and not become overwhelmed, but a great way to gain momentum and boost my mood. As humans, it feels good to get things done. Checking things off a list is a great way to do that. Feel free to add smaller items to your list (i.e. taking a walk) that you can accomplish quickly. This will help establish that sense of accomplishment and will motivate you to get after those other items on your list. Do not feel bad if you do not finish everything on your list—Rome was not built in a day!
Prioritize Sleep
This might feel like an obvious one, but it can not be underscored enough how crucial sleep is. Everything about us is better when we have gotten a proper night’s rest: the performance and feel of our physical bodies, clarity of our minds, our moods and attitudes, and our energy levels. This is easier said than done when we have got numerous assignments in our “To Do” que in Canvas that are all due at 11:59pm. Of course, getting proper sleep every night would be ideal. However, I realize that for most of us, that is unrealistic (especially for those of us, myself included, who are both students and have children). Focus on one day at a time. Whether it is going to bed earlier, sleeping-in the following day, taking a short nap during the day, or a combination of those, take advantage of the opportunities to prioritize sleep whenever possible—your body, mind, and others will thank you.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of things that you can do to help improve your personal well being, but rather a handful of quick and practical tips that will help you that are not categorically diet and exercise. Remember to be intentional. Everything on this list will require a degree of intentionality. Even if you are able to focus on just one of these, you are engaging in being intentional about improving your own well being. You should be proud of yourself!
