Create good habits 

Our habits shape who we are, it can be quite difficult to build good habits and stick with them in a long time. However, throughout my college careers, I have learned a few strategies that have helped me build these healthy habits. A lot of the tips that I'm going to share with you are inspired by the bestselling book that also mention coursework writing service , The Atomic Habits written by James Clear, which I highly recommend all of you checking out. In creating good habits, first thing that you should consider doing is to make a habit attractive. This can be done through habit bundling, which means pairing an action you want to do with an action you need to get done to reduce procrastination time. 

For example, if I want to go to an a cappella show to see my friends performing this Friday, but I have to finish writing this article for the Harvard Crimson that is due also on Friday, I can bundle this task with a habit of mine, which is working out. After I finish working out at the American Athletic Center for the day, I will start writing my article. And after I finish writing my article, then I will reward myself by buying the ticket to go to the a a cappella show to see my friend. The second thing that you should consider is to actually make a habit obvious. Another way to understand it is to make the cues of good habit more obvious around in your environment. If you want to eat more healthfully during your days in college, consider planning your meals ahead of time. Or if you want to get into a habit of exercising more, you can place a yoga mat near the door so that when you're waking up or when you're about to leave your room you are reminded that, OK, I need to go workout today before the day ends. build a support network.

Build A Support Network

Being able to reach out for help, especially during challenging times in college, it's super important and often encouraged. Keep in touch with friends and family from home as you embark on your four-year college journey. You can consider getting involved in other extracurricular activities on campus or social groups to meet more friends who will likely share similar interests and keep yourself from being isolated and lonely. 

Set Realistic Goals

Setting realistic goals for yourself. As college students, especially at high-achieving institutions like Harvard, we are told to dream big and achieve big. As a result, you might be too perfectionistic and ambitious at setting goals. As for me, over time, I learned to be OK with doing less. And setting field goals allowed me to have more control over what I can achieve during the day. Here is a small checklist that I follow when setting new goals for myself. The goals should never be vague. I learned to set clearly-defined objectives using the framework, I want to achieve X by the time X. And secondly, I specify my goals with specific deadlines and time points. If you don't measure your goals with an endpoint, you won't be able to measure the effectiveness of your progress. The third step is to make sure that I have a proper plan of action by junking different steps of the goal into smaller, more manageable steps in a to-do list or a calendar. The fourth step is to keep myself accountable by informing my goals and my plan of achieving these smaller goals to people who can keep me accountable along the way. 

Practice Mindfulness

Next tip is to practice self-awareness and mindfulness. It has been shown through decades of research that mindfulness practice helps improve one's mental health by allowing the individuals to pay more attention to their internal thoughts, sensations, and emotions without judgment. There are many forms of mindfulness practice that you can adopt in college such as yoga, meditation, Pilates, or laughter yoga. These can be offered as wellness classes on campus. Or you can also find them in other wellness centers in the neighborhood. 

Prioritize Sleep

In college where there are so many activities competing for our attention, prioritizing sleep can be super challenging. If I wake up from five hours of sleep or stay up way too late to study for an exam, my health would suffer the day after and even many days later. Here are some of the tips that I've learned to prioritize my sleep during a busy semester in college. One, having macronutrient balanced meals throughout the day so that I don't get hungry later during the night. Two-- keeping workspace separate from sleep space. I don't do work on my bed because that would make it harder for me to fall asleep later. Three-- avoiding pulling an all-nighter. And four-- having a night ritual that you follow before you go to sleep. For me, it is putting my phone away an hour before I go to sleep. Then plan my day ahead by listing out five action items that I need to do the next day.