If you’re anything like me, you probably have so many things on your to-do list that it looks a bit like a novel. Sometimes it feels like I don’t have enough time in the day to do everything I need to do, which causes me a bit of stress. When feeling particularly overwhelmed, it’s common for self care and maintaining mental health drop to the bottom of your priorities.

Trust me, I have felt this way so many times before. I got into an unhealthy mindset where all that mattered to me was getting my work done so that I could relax later. Yes, this means I usually got my work done on time — but it was always at the cost of my health.

You might start to feel less self worth, a little numb, and plummeting motivation. How will you get your work done if your motivation isn’t there anymore?

Since I noticed this unhealthy behavior, I decided to stop it in its tracks and create a new plan. I made self care a part of my daily routine — some days more than others, depending on how much time I have. If I ever skip it, I will immediately feel like something’s missing.

Strangely enough, something is missing when you skip your self care routine. When you forget to engage in acts of self care, you are forgetting to love yourself. Self care isn’t necessarily about making your skin glow or organizing your planner — It’s about dedicating a part of your schedule every day to yourself. It’s about learning to give yourself the permission to work on yourself and nothing else.

Through these simple, consistent acts, I have become comfortable with being my own company. I have become more confident in myself. Most importantly, I remember to love myself more.

Self care, when in a pinch, can be combination of simple acts that you do for yourself. Even when life feels overwhelming, it’s easy (and super important) to ask yourself: “What can I do for myself today?”

In the Morning

• Before you start your first class or go to work, grab a cup of coffee or tea. By simply walking to the campus coffee shop and ordering your drink of choice, you are making the first thing you do in the day about making yourself happy. This is so important and will set up your day for greatness.
• Put on some clothes that make you feel confident to face the day — without sacrificing comfort. I always feel my best and most motivated to work when I am dressed nicely.
• Make your bed. My mom taught me that the best way to start your day is to make your bed, as a simple reminder to be productive and organized. As a nice bonus, it’s always nice to climb into a crisply made bed at the end of the day.

Throughout the Day

• Text your friends. Maintaining social contact with your inner circle even when you feel overwhelmed can take off a lot of stress.
• Keep a to-do list and cross things off when you finish something. Doing this helps to keep everything in perspective when your life is crazy. Suddenly, everything you need to do is all in one place, making it super manageable. And…crossing tasks off not only gives you a sense of accomplishment, but it’s also a nice boost of motivation to keep working!
• Play your favorite music.
• Create an outlet for your thoughts. Whether you keep a journal, or you have a private Snapchat story/Instagram account, or you just like to text your mom everything — it’s nice to write stuff down and keep track of your thoughts throughout the day.
• Take breaks in your busy schedule.

When you Get Home

Before you unwind, make sure that you’ve done everything you can to best prepare yourself for tomorrow. There’s no feeling that induces anxiety in me so much as the feeling of being unprepared. Here’s a couple of things that I like to prepare the night before:

• Look at the weather tomorrow and set out clothes accordingly. (If it’s raining, you’ll want to set out an umbrella and boots so you aren’t caught in the rain.)
• Make sure you’ve done all your homework and turned in all assignments online that are due.
• Make sure you’ve packed all of the correct supplies in your backpack for your schedule tomorrow. (If you have chem lab tomorrow, make sure you packed your lab notebook and goggles!)
• Make sure you’ve studied for all your exams or quizzes you may have tomorrow — and get enough sleep.
• Take a look at your google calendar/agenda and make sure you know exactly what you’re doing tomorrow.
• Fill up your water bottle for tomorrow.

Now that you’re all prepared for school/work, let’s unwind a bit. Even if you have 10 minutes to yourself, you can pick out your favorites and do those. You can also multitask with most of these activities, so you have no excuse not to do them.

• Get out of those uncomfortable day clothes and get dressed in some PJ’s! This is the easiest way for me to transition into the self care part of my night. It tells my body A) Yes, I can relax now and B) No, I won’t be seeing anyone in public for the rest of the day.
• Take out your contacts and switch into contacts. Don’t make the mistake of sleeping in your contacts… it’s super uncomfy and very unhealthy for your eyes.
• Make some bedtime tea or hot cocoa. Hot liquids are comforting! They literally hug you from the inside out.
• Organize your living space a bit. Over time, our rooms get so messy, and it really does a number on our mental health. The simple act of putting items away, watering my plants, and washing off my desk allows me to focus better and relax more.
• Do your skin care routine. First, take off all your makeup. Maybe get a face mask and wear it for a bit. If you have teeth whitening kit, do that! Put on some toner, moisturizer, and drying cream! If you need any ideas to amp up your skin care routine, check out my blog post skin care.

At first, some of these acts may not seem like acts of self care. For example, most people don’t necessarily enjoy making their bed, so how in the world could that be self care??

It is, though. Self care doesn’t always come in the form of face masks and bubble baths. Sometimes it’s forcing yourself into a mindset of productivity and positivity — simply because it will start your day off strong. Sometimes it’s forcing yourself to do the work you’ve been avoiding for weeks — not because you enjoy it — but because it’ll make you feel much less stressed once you do it.

Self care is exactly what it describes: caring for yourself in all regards. No matter how long you spend on self care every day, every little bit counts. Make sure to take advantage of these moments and squeeze them into your busy schedule if you can. You will thank yourself later for caring.