Student Weekly Tips: Prioritising your wellbeing
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Feeling as lethargic as a sloth? Have all your bad habits returned now that exam season is over? Give yourself a break! After the stress of the last few months, you’ve all earned and deserve the chance to relax. So this week, we’ve decided to focus our tips on prioritising your wellbeing!
Our personal tips and experiences
“What has really helped me prioritise my wellbeing was realising how important it was. It shouldn’t be an afterthought or a chore, rather as essential an aspect of your life as work. Burn out and a lack of motivation is not fun, and those experiences have led me to actually prioritise my wellbeing and take it seriously. I can admit that I often prioritise work or university over my own wellbeing and I don’t want to. It’s not more important and health matters most of all. In the summer, I really work on maintaining that balance and return to my hobbies once more. I can be creative in my art without guilt, write in my journals without worrying about academics, and overall take a moment to appreciate what’s around me.” — Salma, Politics and International Relations
“I think the summer is the perfect time to get into good habits of looking after yourself which you can then take into the academic year when you return to uni in September. When we are caught up in the stress and busyness of exams and deadlines, it is easy to neglect your wellbeing or put it lower down your priority list. However, over the summer, you have more time to put yourself first and develop some good habits of taking time for yourself and thinking more positively. If you get into a routine of taking breaks, listening to your body when you need to relax and thinking more positively, it will be much easier to stick to them and continue with these practices when the academic year restarts.” — Lily, History
“Wellbeing can go out the window when you’re studying for exams, so the summer is the perfect time to focus on taking care of yourself again. While sleeping in is probably not a good routine to get into when the semester gets underway again, give your body the sleep it needs, especially after the exertions of the last few months! So let yourself have lie-ins and take time to just do whatever you like (within reason!) — make the most of your freedom! Explore the coffee shops and the places you’ve always wanted to visit but never had the time to. Indulge in your hobbies. Spend time outdoors. Then when September is approaching, slowly get back into a routine with regular waking-up and sleeping times to prepare yourself for the new semester.” — Olivia, Psychology
Resources that help you take care of your wellbeing
“There are a few great apps that help you work on your wellbeing. For me, the one I recommend is Aloe Bud; it’s a gentle reminder app. You can set what you want to be reminded of and how often, you can also check in and write under a prompt a note on the app. I’ve set reminders for hydration and motivation but there are all sorts of options and it’s really helped remind me to take care of myself. I wouldn’t remember all work-related meetings and tasks, so I treat wellbeing the same way. It has really made a difference with me.” — Salma, Politics and International Relations
“I don’t really use any apps specifically for wellbeing, beyond making use of reminders on my phone which I sometimes use to tell myself to take some time for myself. I also follow Instagram accounts that focus on wellbeing and positive thinking and find some of the messages on there really helpful! One other thing that is really good for helping you relax and to learn relaxation techniques, is the Counselling Service’s website, which has a page of relaxation audio downloads. These are great if you struggle with taking a minute for yourself and shutting out stress as there is a voice guiding you through it, and there is also guidance on different ways that you can reduce stress and practice mindfulness. It is really beneficial to be patient with yourself and try a few of the techniques to find out which works for you!” — Lily, History
“The Insight Timer meditation app is really useful for taking some time out of your day to check in with yourself and how you’re feeling. It has a variety of meditations and you can choose the length and the type; for example, there are ones that are specifically for stress and others that can help with sleep. I usually put on a meditation before going to bed and find it helps me to unwind and fall asleep.” — Olivia, Psychology
“This isn’t particularly a ‘resource’, but something I use to help manage my mental health and wellbeing is a One Line A Day Journal. From the name, the idea of it is pretty easy to guess, but each day I just write one line of a thought, experience or memory I want to remember. I tend to write down the best thing that happened to me that day, this journal really helps me step back and evaluate my day, as well as focus on a positive experience I have had.” — Iqra, Speech & Language Therapy
We hope you’ve found our reflections on our own experiences and wellbeing resources helpful! Thank you for reading and remember to take time out for yourself this summer — you deserve it!
