Admit it, you’ve been in the same routine for years now. Wake up, eat breakfast, work/study until lunch-time, eat lunch and then set back to work or study like a final mod pack tech tree. Repeat this cycle until dinner time, then repeat it again the next day – rinse and repeat. This routine not only leaves you exhausted, but also unfulfilled and unhappy. The way to make your life better is by changing how long you spend at each of these activities in order to create a new routine that will be more fulfilling for yourself. This can be done through establishing a new morning ritual, spacing out your work/study hours throughout the day and upgrading your midday meal to something healthier than the pizza lunch break indulgence that you were used to in college.
1. Make Breakfast Your Most Important Meal of The Day
Studies have shown that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, as not including it in your routine can result in decreased mental capacity, which only becomes worse as the morning goes on. As a result of this, you will be less productive and more likely to make decisions during the day that are not advantageous for you. The solution is to eat a healthy and nutritious breakfast before starting your daily routine. Not only will this make you feel better afterwards (less tired, more energetic) but it will also improve your productivity during the rest of the day by boosting your brain with energy and nutrients.
2. Expand Your Work/Study Time
The typical college student spends about 60-70% of their time studying for various midterms and finals throughout the semester. If you were to follow this study schedule on a daily basis, then you would spend more than 12 hours in the library or at your desk every day! We all know that this is not sustainable and will ultimately result in burnout. As a result, it’s important that you start experimenting with how long you study for different exams and how many hours you spend on each subject throughout the day. This will help you determine where you can save some time by cutting down on secondary work or activities. For example, if you have a history class that could be completely covered in one hour, then it would be a better use of your time to go for a run or hang out with friends for the rest of the day.
3. Move Around More During The Day
It’s no surprise that sitting at your desk all day will not make you feel good. However, it’s far worse than you think as long periods of sitting have been linked to an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and obesity! The solution is incredibly simple: get up from your desk more often throughout the day! Set aside specific time slots where you can stand up and move around (you can do this anywhere from every 30 minutes to once an hour). The more time you spend in front of your computer at home, the more you should move around when doing these things.
4. Upgrade Your Lunch Break
Most college students have one thing in common: they spend a majority of their lunch break eating their daily dose of pizza or Chinese food. Not only is this incredibly unhealthy, but it’s also very costly and leaves little money for other activities during the day (maybe an afternoon movie?). You can significantly change the way you spend your lunch break by ordering a healthy and nutritious meal from your local grocery store or eating healthier food at a nearby cafe/deli. Instead of spending all of your money on lunch, buy yourself a sandwich (healthier than what you usually get) and some fruit to be eaten during the afternoon. You will save yourself 100% of the money that you normally spend on food, time out of class and unnecessary sugar rushes.
5. Set Up A New Morning Routine
The morning is when we are most likely to make our biggest mistakes that day. Therefore, it is one of the most important times to be productive. The best way to ensure that you will wake up early and be more energetic throughout the day is to create a new morning routine that is beneficial for you. As a result, you will feel more positive and motivated throughout the day instead of just being tired. Some tips include scheduling a workout for the morning (even if it’s only 20 minutes) and going for a run/walk before work or before classes start again. Another extremely useful tip is to get up earlier during the week.
6. Make Midday Activities More Frequent
Most college students will stay up late during the week, then wake up late during the weekend. This leaves them feeling extremely fatigued and unmotivated throughout the week. To maintain a positive mood and get more done throughout the week, you should try to space out your work/study time in a more consistent way (i.e. more frequently).
7. Switch to a More Filling Diet
A typical college student will eat three meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner: usually at around 12PM, 6PM and 8PM respectively), making them feel totally exhausted at the end of the day. If you want to improve your mood and brain function, then you should make a point of eating more nutritious foods throughout the day. This can be done by switching to a diet that is rich in vegetables, fruits and healthy fats as well as eating smaller meals throughout the day (6-8). In addition, you should try to eat every 3 hours or so (not 3 times per day) while still keeping small snacks with you throughout the day.
8. Get Up Earlier During The Week
The typical college student will wait until around 10AM before getting up for their morning routines. In addition to having a terrible sleep schedule, this leaves them with little time to do anything when they get up, including exercise (which is extremely important). If you are going to do a workout before 10AM, then make sure that you have it done at least 1.5-2 hours before your normal wake up time. In addition, make sure that if you are going for a run/walk before work, then you get up at 5AM instead of 10AM. This way you will be able to easily get your workout done and still have plenty of time for the rest of your day.
Conclusion:
You will always have to balance your workload and other activities with your daily responsibilities and personal life. As a result, you will be sure to feel totally exhausted and unmotivated during the day. However, if you can make some changes to your daily schedule, then you will be able to make better use of your time and feel more positive throughout the day. Not only is this important for everyday tasks but it will also make it easier to accomplish things that are related to your overall well-being (exercise, nutrition, etc.).
