Why Self-care Isn’t Selfish
The Solution to Students’ Stress (and the Productivity that Suffers)
Be productive, perform well, achieve high: Students meet the demands of life, school, and work daily, but not without the risk of experiencing burnout from stress. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
Read time:12 minutes
This blog post was created in collaboration with James Calvin “J.C.” Jones. If you'd like to connect with JC or hire them to help you with any of your writing needs, you can do so by emailing jamescalvinjones57 at gmail dot com.
Today, be what everyone in your life has advised against: selfish. That’s right, self-ish. Not the person who lacks consideration for others, or who has so much consideration for others you lack consideration for who matters most: you. No matter what, you matter. What matters to you is just as important but means nothing if self-care is not practiced.
When to Practice Self-care and Why
Most people ask what is self-care, but the better question is, when should self-care be practiced? The students at dosomething.org say when burnout starts.
So much has changed post-pandemic; life still has expectations of productivity and in some cases, higher expectations. For students, the pressure to be productive, perform well, and achieve high is real. That pressure leads to stress that contributes to burnout. Stress affects mental health, and burn out from school can affect the quality of life.
That’s why practicing self-care now is important yet most don’t. One reason, the American Psychological Association found, was because schools don’t teach it; others are the results are not immediate; the time required is greater than the time available. But, if no other reason compels making self-care a priority, one at least does.
Self-care matters. Being mindful of one’s wellness makes achieving goals like graduation possible. Photo by Vantha Thang from Pexels
Why Self-care Should be a Priority for Students
Search for “challenges facing students today” and the results are the same: productivity, or lack thereof. Then, search “student productivity” from any angle and the results, though varied, are the same, too: self-care.
But there’s a catch: one needs to “balance” productivity and self-care. One can learn tips on “balancing the self-care and productivity” as if the two are mutually exclusive—as if someone cannot be productive while practicing self-care but must practice self-care in order to be productive.
In this sense, self-care is “taking time to meet one’s needs” in which one “saves time” to meet needs. Wait. Shouldn’t all our time go to meeting our needs? Is it not possible to manage our day and get our needs met so that we don’t have to save time?
Self-care has everything to do with productivity: it protects mental and physical well-being, removes stress, and eliminates burnout. This boosts mood, and for the student worried about results, boosts productivity, too.
When students neglect self-care, burn out is real, and lack of productivity along with it.
How Stress, Burnout, Productivity, and Self-care Relate
What Burnout Looks Like
The Department of Public Health at California State University defines stress as the “physical, mental, or emotional strain” a person feels “in response to the demands placed on them.” Burnout is the result. Exhaustion–fatigue, insomnia, and loss of appetite–leads to poor memory and concentration and increasing irritability. A person depersonalizes, becoming negative towards work. Apathy leads to isolation, anxiety, depression, and anger. Productivity lacks; achievement suffers.
But if stress causes burnout in response to demands, what demands cause students to burnout? Too many demands, and not managing them effectively. For students at any level, those demands are easily identified:
studying for classes
completing assignments
passing exams
participating in extracurriculars
having a social life
finding and securing employment
What Productivity Looks Like
Students face all six demands—plus those from their own personal circumstances—every day. A productive student meets these demands successfully. According to Forbes magazine, productivity is measured in four key abilities:
manage stress and avoid burnout
function at high cognitive levels of concentration and decision-making
be self-aware of wellness
make a positive impact to a greater cause
How Self-care and Productivity Go Together
Easily. Well, easier since every search result for “challenges to productivity” are similar. Some name the symptoms, some the cause, and others the cure. Granted, a holistic approach to the problem is worthwhile, but how about this: Instead of looking at productivity from the point-of-view of the problem, look at productivity from the point-of-view of the solution.
If the greatest challenge facing students today is poor productivity from burnout, and the best way to avoid burnout is self-care, why not work backwards from self-care?
Can self-care not be integrated with productivity the whole day and not just part of the day? Can self-care not be the prevention, instead of the cure?
Not practicing self-care is not an option, especially when students already experience a regular amount of stress from daily demands of productivity. Some of the tell-tale signs of rising burnout: exhaustion.
Photo by Monstera from Pexels
How Self-care Can Be Incorporated into a Daily Routine
Self-care has five essential components: nutrition, rest, exercise, connection, and routine. The first three are simple enough: all can be integrated daily. This ensures the best possibilities for connection and routine.
Procrastination, exhaustion, and distraction threaten routine and therefore, productivity. Students put off assignments because of their perceived difficulty. That difficulty becomes overwhelming and so assignments are avoided—until they are due.
Then, the overwhelming becomes overwhelming. Then, assignments are crammed and crunched. Then diet and sleep suffer and there are no breaks. The body and the mind struggle to adjust to a sporadic schedule of accomplishing tasks frantically—just days before, the routine lethargically avoided those same tasks. Energy depletes, efficiency decreases, distractions appear, and productivity disappears.
So what does self-care–in the guise of routine–look like as a solution? A solution that values time by using time wisely. Afterall, students most need time to get everything done without getting stressed.
Managing one’s time and setting boundaries to protect that time through a routine is how one can self-care while being productive.
Create a schedule that accommodates all obligations in the day—work, class, events, appointments, deadlines, and so on. Include what you need to get done, then what you want to get done. Finalize the schedule using the tips below.
Routine is an essential component of self-care. Having a regular wake-up that accommodates personal needs is vital. Photo by Ron Lach from Pexels.
Consistent Times for Meals and Sleep
Have the same wake-up, meal-time, and bed-time every day. Set aside time for 3 meals (eat brain-foods, hydrate, and avoid caffeine and alcohol). Set wake-up and bed-time to ensure a full 8 hours of sleep and rest.
Organized Tasks by Priority and Time Frame with Clear Goals to Achieve
Organize the day into time blocks by half-hours or hours. Designate each time block to one of obligation or needed/desired accomplishment. Set one time block aside for answering emails and calls; commit to this time so that any other time communications are paused or silent.
For each obligation in a time block, set a SMART goal--a task achievable in that time block in one day. Then, determine the tasks needed to accomplish that goal. If the goal is meeting a deadline, work backwards from the due date, giving yourself as many days as you will need to complete the deadline and set the start date.
Schedule major assignments for the time block of peak-productivity. Break major assignments into smaller tasks and work on these over the course of several days to pace your work. Complete tasks that will take less than five minutes as soon as possible.
Take Regular Breaks
In fact, take two: take mini-breaks between tasks in a time block by working on one of those five minute tasks. Use the Pomodoro technique: for every eight minutes of reading or writing, two minutes of reflecting or summarizing; for every fifty minutes of work, ten minutes rest. Take a longer break between time blocks. Use this time to eat a healthy snack, interact with another person, or briefly rest.
Check Progress and Plan Ahead
Schedule a time during the day in which you have no task or obligation—alone time or down time, just for you—that is not bed-time. Then, at the same time every evening, evaluate the day: what worked, what did not work, what was finished, and what needs to be finished. Create a to-do list for the next day. Finally, about 30 minutes before bedtime, set all social media on sleep mode, disable notifications, or turn off all devices.
In the end, self-care and productivity work together. Students can concentrate, limit distractions, and achieve personal goals without burning out form stress. Photo by Oladimeji Ajegbile from Pexels
A Final Word: Be Self-ish
Self-care isn’t just part of productivity; it is productivity. So, practice self-care by creating a routine that consciously incorporates diet and rest, reduces chances of distraction and exhaustion, and uses time to manage tasks at a steady, consistent pace that doesn’t procrastinate.
After all, taking care of yourself while being productive at the same time is not just possible, but definitely doable. So, be a little self-ish: do it.
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