How to Establish a Self-Care Routine at University

There’s no doubt that the chaos of life can take its toll on our mental and physical wellbeing, and adapting to new changes at university can certainly add to this, so taking steps to improve your self-care can make all the difference. With the pace of life being faster than ever, it’s so easy to get caught up in the little things, so taking a step back and reconnecting with yourself is a chance to focus on what you truly value.

‘Self-care’ refers to actions that improve our mental health by tapping into our own personal needs and values. Self-care can take many forms, and whether it’s implementing daily habits, or a full day to unplug from everyday life, it can be the key to unlocking a healthier and more grounded version of yourself.

In this post, we’ll walk you through the steps of creating a self-care routine that’s tailored to your needs. Whether you’re new to student life or you’re struggling to find the balance in your daily routine, this post will break down how you can introduce habits that will help you feel restored.

• Find what sparks joy in your life

This may sound obvious, but being aware of what truly makes you happy will ensure that your self care is intentional and personal to you. This may be taking a slow morning while journaling, and for others it could be a 6am bootcamp class.

To take some added stress off your shoulders when it comes to exploring options for student housing in Belfast, make sure you still take time for the small daily activities that matter to you.

It’s important to pay attention to how certain activities make you feel to ensure that your self care routine has a positive effect on you. For example, if you want to incorporate more exercise into your life but find it daunting, taking the steps to combat this will give you a sense of accomplishment and will make you feel like an improved version of yourself.

• Visualise how you can implement self care into your daily life

Being realistic is key when creating your self-care routine, as it’s important to see how you can stick to your new habits. Acknowledging the time needed for each activity is important, but some steps can be as simple as putting on your favourite playlist while you cook dinner. It’s better to start small and introduce new phases slowly so you can assess the impact on your lifestyle and not feel overwhelmed.

• Set goals and create routines

Once you’ve identified the self care steps you want to take, set yourself goals to keep yourself accountable. It usually takes around two months to form a habit, so regularly checking in with yourself regularly will help you build a sustainable lifestyle.

Setting goals helps to trigger new behaviours and keep the momentum going. Some goals may sound simple, but consider breaking them down into smaller steps that you work through one at a time.. Putting pen to paper and writing down your goals will help clarify them and increase motivation, giving you a better chance of sticking to them.

• Ensure you have a good support system

It can be difficult to improve your self care if you don’t have a supportive network of people around you. Finding like-minded people who are engaged in similar self care activities will help you to sustain your new habits.

Also Read: 10 Signs to Know That the Person Really Likes You

Wrap Up

Remember that self-care doesn’t have to be complicated and will look different for everyone. In its simplest form, the act of self care is looking after the past, present and future versions of yourself. The amount of opportunities available to us at university can be extremely overwhelming and leave us feeling confused. It’s important to remind ourselves that trying new things is how we grow and learn what we like is important.