Self-Care Tips for Busy College Students in 2024

After overcoming a week of being sick, I wanted to write this post not just as a reminder to myself but for those of you in college trying to maintain some sense of normalcy.

Here are 11 tips that will help you take care of yourself while in college.

Number one: Meal prep your meals. It doesn’t matter if it’s the same thing—chicken, rice, and some veggies. You want to be healthy; you don’t want to get sick when you have an upcoming quiz or exam.

I just wrote an article about how I dealt with becoming sick while in college.

Number two: Find time to work out. It doesn’t matter if it’s only 10 minutes a day in the gym or 10 minutes walking around your block. Do something to move your body, keep the blood flowing.

Sitting down for long periods is inevitable as a student so movement is important.

Number three: Mindful snacking. I’m not necessarily talking about calories here; although if you’re sitting for long periods, then its important to be mindful of that too.

However, be mindful of what kind of snacks you’re consuming because snacking on chips, candy, and drinking sodas  eventually weighs us down mentally and physically which hurts our performance down the road.

Number four: Show yourself grace. One thing we often do is push ourselves to perfection, and then we either burn out before we even get started or halfway through the semester.

Understand that you might not be perfect on every quiz and homework assignment, and that’s okay.

Number five: Do not wait until the last minute to do your assignments. When you put things off, you put more stress on yourself because now you’re overburdened with hours and hours of homework that’s meant to be done throughout the week instead of over one night. Don’t do that to yourself.

Even seemingly complicated tasks like writing a paper can be easier when spread over multiple days instead of one.

Number six: Meal Plans. Not necessarily the same as meal prep, but meal plan. For example, for breakfast, I eat the same thing every morning—Greek yogurt and microwaved blueberries—or I’ll grab a breakfast sandwich.

It makes it easy and simple to have that – no meal prep necessary sometimes.

Number seven: Limit your decisions. Rotate some outfits throughout the week and keep them out so you don’t have to worry about what you’re going to wear.

It’s easier when we don’t have to worry about what the outfit of the day is.

Number eight: Sit down and spend 10 to 30 minutes planning out the next day before you go to bed. I like to print out any assignments that take priority the next day and then glance over them just to get an idea of what the next day’s learning is going to consist of.

It also takes away the surprise factor.

Number nine: Have a study plan down. For me, that looks like 10 to 3:00 or 10 to 2:00 blocked out for two of my classes—psychology and philosophy—I then come home, take an hour break, and then spend from 5:00 to 8:00 focusing on statistics.

Of course, this can change depending on the day or the amount of homework, but having blocks scheduled out of my day for certain classes keeps me on track.

Number ten: Keep brain boosting snacks and a water bottle in your bag. I know this sounds pretty simple, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people go and pay for water and snacks at the bookstore, which isn’t cheap. (I have been guilty of buying snacks myself since school started.)

However, I keep water and healthier snack options in my bag which has limited the amount of money spent on campus.

Number eleven: Don’t be afraid to reach out to your professors when you have concerns about your classes or if you’re feeling anxious about an assignment. Sometimes just having that conversation can do more for you than you realize.

This is a form of self-care because you are acknowledging your struggles and concerns.