Featured Student: "Me Time"

By Janet Zimmerman

If your schedule looks anything like mine, it is completely filled to the brim with midterms, projects, presentations, volunteer commitments, conferences and workshops, social media, time with friends, work, and other activities.  I have been talking a lot about all of the things that are important for us, as undergraduate dietetic students, to be doing.  Since we are midway through the semester, I think now is a good time to take a step back and talk about something that is JUST as important.

As busy students who are going full speed all day long, we need to plan in time to relax, get rejuvenated, rest, and get some “me time”.   “Me time” can be made up of many different things: extra sleep, exercise time, cooking, time for building relationships, or anything else that caters to our needs as individuals. So, what does “Me Time” look like for me as a student?

Many times my  “Me time” includes some sort of exercise to help me distress, refocus, think about the events of the day, and get some much needed endorphins running through my body.  This helps keep me going without burning out on school and all of the activities that I like doing. 

Sometimes taking care of myself means going to bed a little bit early, regardless of the list of things I need to do.  I find that when I get sufficient sleep I am the most capable of completing tasks efficiently and to my best ability.

Sometimes “Me Time” includes going to the grocery store (which I LOVE to do) or cooking or baking something yummy.

“Me Time” can look very different depending on the person or even the day.  No matter what you do during this time, it is important time spent.  It helps keep us healthy and keeps us from burning out on school.

You can find out more about setting apart time to rejuvenate yourself through the “Me Movement”, which was started by RD Rebecca Scritchfield and fellow RD-to-be’s Elizabeth Jarrard and Carlene Helble.  This movement promotes self-care especially in the midst of the craziness of life.  As students, we need to make sure we are taking care of ourselves so that we can do our best in all of our different activities.  If you are on twitter, check out the #mefirst hash tag or check out the blog at http://nurtureprinciples.com/category/blog/.

Are you good at setting apart some time in your busy schedule to take care of yourself?  Does it help you get through the business of life as a student? I’d love to hear some of your “Me Time” ideas in the comments.