how I keep myself sane during summer break.
I think we can all agree that the mere idea of having holiday breaks from boring lectures and all-nighter study sessions sounds like heaven; although this romanticized idea of having so much free time often turns into wasted summer days, oversleeping, and basically an anti-social teenage version of house arrest.Ā so, to help you out (or, more to help Myself) here are some things I do to keep myself busy, on a budget (kind of), and mentally healthy during long breaks from school.
continue your morning routine. this is important; by this I mean to basically treat your summer mornings as you would your school mornings, without the rush and alarm.Ā brush your teeth, brush your hair, start/continue a skincare routine,Ā get out of your pajamas and into real clothes, make your bed, make some coffee, eat some breakfast, do it with some music on, whatever you want. this keeps your mind and body into a daily routine. donāt let all your precious no-class mornings of summer go to waste!
savor sleeping in, but not too much. I know its super tempting to go to bed at like 2 AM and wake up the nextĀ āmorningā at 12PM, but trust me, youāll regret fucking up your sleep schedule once you actually have to set an alarm and get your ass to class next fall. Iām not saying you should force yourself to set a summer alarm (although, if you really want to train yourself this isnāt a bad idea tbh) but for the love of god, at least go to sleep and wake up at reasonable times. donāt waste your entire day!!
force yourself to see your friends a couple times a week, even if you really donāt want to. obviously this excludes mental health days, but Iāve found that spending time with my friends actually distracts me from any anxiety Iāve felt during the past week. I love my alone time, but human interaction is super important both mentally and physically. as college students weāre all pretty much broke, so donāt underestimate the power of free things- watching netflix at someoneās house, having a boardgame night, going toĀ parks, you name it. as long as youāre with your friends, youāll have a great time!
clean out your music library + make a playlist or two.Ā yāall know I love a good playlist. this is something totally 100% FREE, and a perfect way to make use of your free time. delete all the stuff you donāt listen to anymore and make a few playlists of your favorite songs, or even go with playlist themes to organize your songs. itās fun and your future self will probably thank you later for getting rid of so much audible junk.
get back into reading. this is something that was on my personal summer to-do list. I havenāt read a book for myself (aka not for a class) in sooo long, and let me tell you- I donāt know why I ever stopped reading. I know for a fact that once the semester starts Iāll have zero free time to read for myself, so summer is the perfect time to get into a new book or two!
eat your three meals a day +hydrate.Ā I mean this. its very easy to skip/forget meals when you really donāt have any set schedule whatsoever, so plan your meals into your day. even make an alarm if its necessary. also: if you donāt know if youāre drinking enough water, you probably arenāt.
deep clean your room/workspace/closet. Iām super guilty for putting this off but, long breaks like summer are the perfect times to deep clean! what makes it easier for me to clean my room is to go section by section, which means not doing it all in a day (because that gets hella overwhelming and stressful, let me tell you). grab a garbage bag, put on some tunes, and pick a section to clean that day; youāll be done with the entire space in no time!
outfit plan. for someone like me who has way too much in my closet and somehow stillĀ ānever has anything to wearā, this is essential! set some outfits out on the floor/bed and take pics of them on your phone so that you can look back on them for some style inspo the next time you haveĀ āabsolutely NOTHING to wearā.
find a new hobby, even if youāre bad at it. make some collages of your friends, make a scrapbook, learn photoshop, paint a little, learn how to sew, garden, cook, practice your phone photography skillsā¦ if there was a time for you to try out new things, itās NOW.
make a post about all the shit you should do. Iām doing it right now. literally. youāre reading it right now. its not a bad idea.
if you know you have shit to do, plan it into your day! this is where the planner/agenda/bullet journal aspect comes in. having no class and no homework is not an excuse to stop planning out your day, your week, or your month. make some task lists and pencil in your dentist appointments and dates with people and whatnot; and even journal your days while youāre at it! if youāre a planner, never stop.Ā Future You will thank you for it, I promise.
