One of the hardest things to do is to take care of your physical health at East Carolina University. You focus so much on all the assignments, papers, projects, and studying you need to do. You will at some point realize that it drains your energy up. Thankfully, there are a couple different solutions to this problem.
Walk to class instead of riding the bus
At this time of year, it is so tempting to ride the bus to get across campus. It’s cold and you’re probably exhausted from not getting enough sleep, but really make an effort to walk!! Most of the time it takes the same time to walk somewhere as it takes the bus to get there due to other stops and traffic, so help your body out by walking. I know it doesn’t sound right, but I swear it takes 15 minutes to the library wether you walk from college hill or wait for the bus. Call your friends or family, listen to some good music, do anything that distracts you. Take this time for yourself instead of just constantly being in a state of worry about all the work you have.
Designate time to go to the gym
As someone who has thought of every excuse as to why I don’t have time to go to the gym let me tell you: you always have time to go to the gym. No one says you have to be there for 2 hours working out with no break. No one says you have to go at the same time and do the same thing every single day. All of that studying is going to cause a lot of stress to build up. With no way to release that stress, the studying you continue to do will not be as effective as it could be. Something that has been proven to work is to designate time in the morning before any of your classes. No one is at the SRC at 8am so you won’t have to worry about the gym buffs judging your 20 pound weights!!
Take breaks every hour of studying
Sitting for hours and hours on end is never a good thing. Yes, studying is just as exhausting as physically working out, but you still need to move once in a while. Get up and stretch your legs, get some water and go to the bathroom. Just give yourself the gift of a 5-10 minute break every hour. This been proven to help your concentration and effectiveness of your studying. Walk downstairs to the bathroom if you’re studying on the second floor or vice versa. Go to the water fountain that’s furthest away. If you are studying in a group study room, set an alarm to remind your group to stretch and you can all stretch and rant about your work before diving back in. It’s a great way to stay focused for long periods of time.
Find a podcast/audio book
Still feel like you just don’t have the time? Combine your gym time and study time then! I have seen countless people reading books or listen to podcasts as they pedal along on bikes. My suggestion would be to go to the bikes on the second floor of the Student Recreation Center and set a goal to finish studying. The PASC often records their large group sessions for classes like chemistry and biology. Listening to one of those while you pedal along. You will be so focused on listening to what the tutors are saying that all of the sudden it will be the end of the recording and you will have biked 2 miles subconsciously.
I know it is insanely easy to not want to walk across campus to the gym, but making sure you are moving everyday is going to help out your studies so much. For the mental side of you to perform well, your physical side needs to be up to par as well. You will be surprised how motivated you become just from changing these little things about your daily routine! Your body will feel stronger, you will feel more productive, and you will sleep better at the end of the day. Start off this semester on the right foot!!
