Maintaining A Routine

 Struggling to get a routine that’s sustainable?

Welcome back to another blog! First I want to say a big thankyou to everyone who read my previous blog and gave me feedback for upcoming blogs :) it greatly helps me out. 

Today’s topic is all about how to have a maintainable routine while at uni, whether you are a student living on campus or commute weekly to uni, I’m here to give you lots of tips and tricks that I’ve learnt, but also some tricks my friends have taught me!

1: Get enough rest for the next day 💤

Now while I sound like every adult to ever exist telling you that you need X amount of hours a night so that you’re ready for the day, it is important.

Everyone is different when it comes to sleeping patterns and getting 8 hours every night may not always be possible. However ensuring

you’re well rested is essential (trust me), going to a lecture on 2 hours sleep with an energy drink in hand is not the way to navigate uni. 

 If you know you have a long uni day the next day, attempt to go to bed at a reasonable hour, anything upwards of 6 hours will benefit you greatly in how you feel as well as your concentration inside the lectures. 

2: Look good, feel good, do good. 👗

This is probably one of my favourite things to implement into my routine. Coming from a small, rural area I  didn’t have much opportunity to express yourself other than a fresh new pair of air forces and track set, but at university there are so many more opportunities to express yourself through clothing, hair colours and much more (to my families annoyance that is lol). 

Make an effort most days to wear something that makes you feel good! Even if it’s just a pair of signature jeans you got off Vinted for £5 (also checkout Vinted and Depop for cheap deals on 100s of brands), if it makes you feel good it is proven that you are more likely to do better in your studies. 

3: Baby steps 🐾

Don’t feel like everything has to start straight away. It is never be all, end all. Got an assignment due but also feel like you have a million and one other things to do? Separate it all out, get out your notes app and write out everything you have coming up. By just visualising what you’re dealing with you can make it a lot easier to deal with.

Plan it out - need to clean your room? Take 20 minutes and see what you can get done, even if it’s just the desk! Got an essay due? Well now you have a nice clean area to make an essay plan. Hungry after all that? Make a nice meal and while it’s cooking you can sort out the dishes that have probably been building up.

A good quote my uncle tells me - “how do you eat an elephant? …. One bite at a time”. Panicking and feeling sorry doesn’t get anything done quicker, it just helps you procrastinate and waste time and energy.

4: Have an outlet 🎶

It can all become overwhelming attempting to manage everything at the same time. Don’t push yourself too hard and don’t fret if it doesn’t work the first time around. If something isn’t working, make a change.

You wouldn’t keep using the same shampoo if it made your hair smell awful so why keep doing something everyday that isn’t working?

Listen to music, go on a walk with friends or sit with the campus cat 🐈, all these things can help you realise you’re only human and you don’t have to be picture perfect. Not every routine has to have 5 different activities a day, if you’re not a fan of the gym don’t push yourself to do a 3 hour workout everyday. Do whatever works for you and makes you feel good.

5: Be your own motivation 🫂

This is for you and you only. If you want a routine to work you have to hold yourself accountable. 

Where do you see yourself in 3 months time? Is it sleep deprived, living off noodle packets and sitting in the library crashing out over deadline assignments? Or is it well rested, eating balanced and feeling prepared for deadline day?

  That is the choice you have today and it can start tomorrow. Implement one of these tricks for a week and see if it works for you, then slowly incorporate the others and before you know it… you will have a routine that will help to keep you on track to being a better version of yourself, and then you will be able to reflect on the old habits that you had which were probably holding you at a disadvantage.