Recommendations: healthy daily/weekly habits to develop as a grad student

[maelia8]

I know from experience that when you're studying, researching, or working at any full-time, often stressful job, it can be tempting to discard hobbies and even forgo things necessary to your health such as sleep or organized meals, or to develop binge habits that don't help with de-stressing and staying healthy in the long run (junk food, television, etc.). 

 

In an attempt to avoid falling into this cycle, I'd like to hear your input: What specific "healthy habits" do you try to keep up, small things that you try to remember to do that don't take up that much time, that contribute a lot to your physical health and mental well-being? (exercise, spiritual activities, side jobs, volunteer work, hobbies, daily habits, etc.)

[ss2player]

Cool topic! I volunteer as a counselor in my city, 3 hours a week. I find it fulfilling and a nice change of pace from highly detailed science thinking; your EQ really needs to worked as much as your IQ. I also enjoy TAing as a way to be more interactive and keep that ol' knowledge fresh.

[maelia8]

One thing that I'm trying to do every day is to unroll my exercise mat on the floor next to my bed before I go to sleep. Right after I wake up and visit the restroom, I get on the mat and just do three or four rounds of sun salutation yoga sequences, and then do seated stretches for another couple of minutes. I sometimes wake up feeling groggy, and this helps to make me to get the blood flowing (and it only takes 5 minutes). 

[microarray]

I plan on playing roller derby for a healthy stress outlet and to make friends outside of science.

[bsharpe269]

I did not workout much at all the first semester of grad school and felt horrible and unhealthy because of it. I am runner and am really just one of those people that just feels miserable mentally and physically when I don't get that outlet.

 

In the past couple months I have focussed on incorporating at least 3 runs per week in my schedule, minimum of 20 minutes but usually more like 30-40. I didn't think I had the time (and it is hard to find it!) but lately I have prioritized it just like I do assignment deadlines. I have to get those 3 runs in no matter what... even on midterm weeks, even when conferences are coming up.

 

Since I made this change I feel so much better! I would love to excercise even more but I feel like 3x/week is a good compromise where I don't take away too much time from studying but stay healthy!

[pears]

I started using essential oils for aromatherapy & herbal teas (mostly for relaxation & sleep, but also for my tum when I get stressed out), & I've been pleasantly surprised by how helpful they are! They take minimal effort to find & use, but make a big difference. For example, I have one of those little lavender-scented pellet bags that can be heated up & placed on my neck or over my eyes, & I have a tea for relaxation that I keep a mug of next to me when I'm doing late night work. I also invested in a lavender-bergamot massage oil for when my back gets tense, & I keep jasmine & ylang-ylang essential oils on my nightstand that help me with my sleep anxiety.

 

I've finally scheduled yoga back into my schedule! &, now that it's warmer, I'll probably be doing more fly fishing, hiking, & whitewater kayaking; I'll probably start leaving aside one afternoon out of the week to spend on the river or on a mountain. Mmm, fresh air therapy.

[GreenePony]

My hobby isn't a quick one- if everything goes smoothly and we keep the lesson within the typical time-span it takes me at least 4 hours (not including changing and a shower) to ride with the commute to and from the barn. But it has had such a fantastic effect on my well-being. It's exercise, I'm outside, and I'm around people who have *nothing* to do with grad school. Also, horses are great therapy animals (if a bit frustrating at times.)

 

I also crosstrain with pilates (anywhere from 15 mn to 50 mn a day depending on how I feel), and running (20-50 minutes). I'm also getting my dog back in shape from a winter off, I'm getting outside more, and she has a habit of looking up/back at me while running. Since she's a Sheltie she also smiles (technically its a submissive expression - its something the breed is known for, being a very biddable breed) and that's nice to see when I'm getting tired.

 

While DH and I are in a fellowship group with our church, it's not as close knit as our group before we moved, so we started a book study just the two of us. I read on the metro when I commute between classes and we discuss the chapter/section Saturday nights. It's brought up some fun theological debates and we're sure to get time to focus on growth as a couple. I try to read a book before suggesting it for a study so that means I constantly have a new book to read and ponder on my commute.

 

(edit: I forgot I also make a pot of really thick porridge Sunday evenings and put it in tupperware to heat up each morning with fruit so I have a quick breakfast each morning that's healthy- just steel cut oats, almond milk, chia seeds, and cinnamon. Less pots to clean this way too.)

Edited April 10, 2014 by GreenePony

[PhDerp]

I also crosstrain with pilates (anywhere from 15 mn to 50 mn a day depending on how I feel), and running (20-50 minutes). I'm also getting my dog back in shape from a winter off, I'm getting outside more, and she has a habit of looking up/back at me while running. Since she's a Sheltie she also smiles (technically its a submissive expression - its something the breed is known for, being a very biddable breed) and that's nice to see when I'm getting tired.

Sheltiiiiiie.... Want one so bad. >_< When I'm ready!

[GreenePony]

Sheltiiiiiie.... Want one so bad. >_< When I'm ready!

 Best Breed EVER. I'm a third generation sheltie owner, so I'm a little biased. But how can you not like this face?*

*Except when she barks/yodels at the neighbors' kids. Then I could understand.

Edited April 10, 2014 by GreenePony

[deci:belle]

Frequent naps.

 

I'm sure it would be hard to come by in graduate school, but in undergrad it worked for me wonderfully.

After ever class, I would go back to my room and take a nap right away. After I woke up I was always ready to do whatever, whether it be assignments, go to my job, read, study etc. Without it, I was like a cranky 3 year old dragging my feet. 

 

And of course exercising. I took up boxing for two years and with no surprise it does wonders for stress relief (and your body). 

[gingin6789]

Brush your teeth at least twice a day, and floss your teeth at least once a day (especially if you drink coffee with any sugar!!).

 

It'll save you major dental bills and TIME (you know, the time you won't have while in grad school).  Oh, and if you're afraid of dental work, it will make things less painful.  

 

Example: While I brushed twice a day, I wasn't doing so thoroughly.  I also wasn't flossing at all.  It took a root canal to get my act together, and the root canal had to be done during the semester where I was taking three of my core courses for my undergraduate programs.  

 

If you also don't have dental insurance while in graduate school, brushing/flossing regularly will work to your benefit.

 

I know it sounds so mundane, but dental health is often overlooked as part of overall health.

[juilletmercredi]

So on the work front:

-One thing I began very recently is a writing schedule.  I'm far more loose with it (I kind of schedule my writing blocks on a week by week basis) but I'm intending to work my way up to having actually scheduled writing times per day and sticking to them.  I have found (as promised in the book How to Write a Lot by Peter Silvia) that the more I write, the more I want to write.  I get more done, and I am more creative - I get endless ideas and writer's block is not a problem.  Also, the writing goes more smoothly and I have plenty of time to go back and edit and revise.  Also, if you put yourself on a good schedule, you leave yourself a good amount of time to do the other things in life that you need to do to stay sane.  Honestly, this is probably the best thing you could EVER do for yourself.  You'll also be more productive, finish things on time, and have the publications you need to get a job.  So.  WRITING SCHEDULE.  I'm a huge proponent of this now.

-You can also get a LOT done in 2 hours.  You can get a lot done in ONE hour.  Every little thing counts.  If you can read 3 articles in 2 hours, that's 3 less articles you have to read during your writing time.  You can probably write 2 pages in 1 hour.  That may not sound like a lot, but they all add up.  I am three chapters into my dissertation so I've been thinking a lot about writing and the entire thing has just been one big project made up of little tiny projects.  I broke it down into sections that were no bigger than 3 pages.  Some of them were 1-2 pages.  So you can sit down for 2 hours and say, f it, I'm going to write this 2-page section today and do it!  So don't waste those 1-2 hour blocks of time.

For my personal life:

-I've built up a tight group of friends here and I try to socialize with them at least a few times a month.  Very important.  They're all busy too, but we schedule things in advance and it turns out fine.  I always have a lot of fun and feel recharged.

-I've slacked on this recently but I used to exercise 1 hour 3x a week.  It was the kind of thing where, if I was in the middle of something and my run time came along, I would stop what I was doing, go run, and come back and pick it back up.  I fell off the wagon when I got surgery but I'm trying to get back on.

-I always have a side job.  It means a lot for my mental health to be able to buy what I want, like clothes or make-up or pay for movie tickets every now and then.  I use this as little rewards when I finish something on deadline.  I currently work 10 hours a week at an academically-related job (teaching undergrads statistics, basically) but I have worked as many as 20 hours a week at a non-academically-related job (residential hall director for res life here).  I loved it and that's where I met most of my closest friends.

-Volunteering is important to me, so I volunteer as a mentor to two high school students trying to go to college next year.  The commitment's not much - it was something like every other Saturday plus ad hoc meetings as needed (I would help them prepare for college interviews and write their essays and such).  I've also done one-off volunteering, like I judge my city's science and engineering fair every year and sometimes do SAT tutoring.

-Yoga is great!  But I always sign up for a class and then don't go consistently, lol.

-I eat breakfast every day.  Well, almost every day.  It's my little me-centering time - I sit down with a small breakfast and a cup of coffee and just chill before the day.  This centers me.

-I always try to make time for pleasure reading.  My pleasure reading sometimes gives me just as many good ideas as my academic reading (probably because sometimes my pleasure reading is medical nonfiction, lol).  BUt it's a nice calming thing to do, and I loooove to read and I don't want to lose that.

 

-Oh also, SLEEP.  It's very important.  Ever since about my 3rd or 4th year of grad school I make sure that I get at least 6 hours of sleep a night.  More ideally, I try to get 7-8 as those are optimum levels for me.  If it means I won't make a deadline, oh well.  I stop what I'm doing 6-8 hours before I need to be up and I go to bed.  I can't write very well when I'm sleepy anyway, and I feel miserable, so it's far better for me to be well-rested and get something in a day late than try to turn in a horrible mess at 3 am.

[stella_ella]

I've found meditation to be very helpful. It allows you to clear you mind, keeps your mood content, and helps you sleep. 5 minutes in the morning, and 10 minutes before bed does the trick for me

[Munashi]

Brush your teeth at least twice a day, and floss your teeth at least once a day (especially if you drink coffee with any sugar!!).

 

It'll save you major dental bills and TIME (you know, the time you won't have while in grad school).  Oh, and if you're afraid of dental work, it will make things less painful.  

 

Example: While I brushed twice a day, I wasn't doing so thoroughly.  I also wasn't flossing at all.  It took a root canal to get my act together, and the root canal had to be done during the semester where I was taking three of my core courses for my undergraduate programs.  

 

If you also don't have dental insurance while in graduate school, brushing/flossing regularly will work to your benefit.

 

I know it sounds so mundane, but dental health is often overlooked as part of overall health.

 

I'm not in grad school yet, but hell - this is amazing advice, please take it seriously.  My teeth have many awful stories they could tell you.  Take care of them and save yourself the pain/expense...

[i.am.me]

I schedule in do-nothing time into my Google Calendar. When I'm less busy it might be one day a week...or even 1.5 days a week...or even 2 days a week if my schedule permits. When I'm pretty busy, an hour for at least 3 days that week - this is separate from my gym time. I really need that time alone to reflect...maybe stare at a wall...or even lay in a patch of sunshine...and just blob out. 

[rising_star]

Read something related to your research at least 5 days a week, even if it's just one journal article a day.

Schedule time to hang out with your friends.

Do something you love (outside of your research) at least once a week.

Make it a point to save some money for travel and/or the summer. I set that aside weekly because it's easiest.

[picabo]

I'm not sure if this counts / is helpful, but I have a cat and spend time each day petting her (when she's not ignoring me). I find it very relaxing. I also find it very relaxing when she sleeps on my lap.

 

Depending on which part of campus I need to be on, I either walk there (it's about a mile) or walk to a bus stop farther away.

[gingin6789]

I'm not in grad school yet, but hell - this is amazing advice, please take it seriously.  My teeth have many awful stories they could tell you.  Take care of them and save yourself the pain/expense...

Same here ... for how important teeth are, they're often neglected in some way, and it costs a bundle to fix them ... 

[C&C]

Great thread! 

 

After talking to current students, I've started some healthy habits now to help me out my first semester.

 

-The most important for me is eating as "clean" (healthy) as possible. Simply, because the better I eat, the better I feel.

-For my undergraduate thesis, I forsook my team sport, and suffered miserably because of it. I learned that as a natural athlete, I cannot remove physical activity from my regimen. I am now looking to yoga/pilates/swimming as my new university does not offer rowing. 

-Taking time to recognize that the things I am stressed about show how lucky I am. Not everyone is able to go to graduate school, so I am thankful each day that most of my worries are academic in nature.

 

I know it's quite early, but good luck to everyone in the upcoming academic year!

[DerpTastic]

 Best Breed EVER. I'm a third generation sheltie owner, so I'm a little biased. But how can you not like this face?*

*Except when she barks/yodels at the neighbors' kids. Then I could understand.

 

Your dog is ADORABLE. 

[mockingjay634]

This is a great thread - let's keep the exchange going!

 

I'm the Queen of Scheduling, time prioritization is key!

 

- I'm a fan of freezer cooking, it prevents me from unnecessarily eating out, provides healthier options than boxed/packaged foods. I spend one Saturday a month selecting 10 key recipes (I switch them up every so often), go grocery shopping, and prepping the foods. The following morning, on Sunday, I assemble the meals. I make typically 10 casserole dishes and 10 crockpot meals (5 recipes for each and then double it). It's the exact amount needed for the weekdays and I either cook or dine out on the weekends so I get that fix in then. Every night before bed, I take one out of the freezer and if it's a crockpot meal, I put it the slow cooker before I leave for the day. If it's a casserole, I put in it the moment I get home and do my nightly routine in the meanwhile as it bakes. It does wonders for your stress to know that you have a home-cooked meal ready, waiting for you at home. I always make sure I have enough for leftovers the next day.

 

- As for meal prep when it comes to breakfast, I also make once a week on a "free" weekend - overnight oatmeals and breakfast sandwiches to freeze, and pre-portioned Cream of Wheat, smoothie packs, biscuits & gravy packs (I'm a Southerner!) - just to give you guys from ideas.

 

- A nightly routine is essential. One of the previous posters mentioned they use aromatherapy. I shower with lavender oil (I spray some on the tile so the scent rises up with the hot water). Also, for both males and females, having a weekly pamper day is nice - it relaxes you and maintains your self esteem. I I am big on self maintenance (doing weekly foot soaks instead of spending money and time on lengthy pedicures, etc). In addition, every night before I go to bed, make a list of tasks that I need to complete for the next day and also review that day's list to make sure I am making satisfactory progress. I also put aside my outfit for the day, organize my bag, and prepare my lunch/snacks. It saves me a lot of time in the morning when I'm tired. I am also wanting to start a paper journal... been reading how a lot of successful people do this and want to start incorporate this into my routine.

 

- As for a morning routine, I wake up early (like 4:30am to 5:30am) to walk my dog and head to the gym. I download TV shows on my iPad so I can watch them while I'm on the treadmill and kill two birds with one stone. I also am trying to get into the habit of meditating by setting an intention each day - a great way to incorporate this is to replace this with the time you would just sit down doing absolutely nothing but staring in to space or daydreaming.

 

- I have designated blocks of time during of reading/research and writing. They are both in separate blocks on separate days (R/R will be on MWF and W on T/TR/Sat AM).  Do this early in your graduate school career, it will come to great use when you are ABD.

 

- I also make sure my weekends are scheduled and not set without any clear tasks or intentions... a great way to waste time if you don't know what you are supposed to do for the day. I only do social things every other weekend (which are scheduled in advance to avoid conflicts) and also try to volunteer 4 hours a morning of every other Saturday. 

[personalityresearcher]

This is a great thread - let's keep the exchange going!

 

I'm the Queen of Scheduling, time prioritization is key!

 

- I'm a fan of freezer cooking, it prevents me from unnecessarily eating out, provides healthier options than boxed/packaged foods. I spend one Saturday a month selecting 10 key recipes (I switch them up every so often), go grocery shopping, and prepping the foods. The following morning, on Sunday, I assemble the meals. I make typically 10 casserole dishes and 10 crockpot meals (5 recipes for each and then double it). It's the exact amount needed for the weekdays and I either cook or dine out on the weekends so I get that fix in then. Every night before bed, I take one out of the freezer and if it's a crockpot meal, I put it the slow cooker before I leave for the day. If it's a casserole, I put in it the moment I get home and do my nightly routine in the meanwhile as it bakes. It does wonders for your stress to know that you have a home-cooked meal ready, waiting for you at home. I always make sure I have enough for leftovers the next day.

 

- As for meal prep when it comes to breakfast, I also make once a week on a "free" weekend - overnight oatmeals and breakfast sandwiches to freeze, and pre-portioned Cream of Wheat, smoothie packs, biscuits & gravy packs (I'm a Southerner!) - just to give you guys from ideas.

 

- A nightly routine is essential. One of the previous posters mentioned they use aromatherapy. I shower with lavender oil (I spray some on the tile so the scent rises up with the hot water). Also, for both males and females, having a weekly pamper day is nice - it relaxes you and maintains your self esteem. I I am big on self maintenance (doing weekly foot soaks instead of spending money and time on lengthy pedicures, etc). In addition, every night before I go to bed, make a list of tasks that I need to complete for the next day and also review that day's list to make sure I am making satisfactory progress. I also put aside my outfit for the day, organize my bag, and prepare my lunch/snacks. It saves me a lot of time in the morning when I'm tired. I am also wanting to start a paper journal... been reading how a lot of successful people do this and want to start incorporate this into my routine.

 

- As for a morning routine, I wake up early (like 4:30am to 5:30am) to walk my dog and head to the gym. I download TV shows on my iPad so I can watch them while I'm on the treadmill and kill two birds with one stone. I also am trying to get into the habit of meditating by setting an intention each day - a great way to incorporate this is to replace this with the time you would just sit down doing absolutely nothing but staring in to space or daydreaming.

 

- I have designated blocks of time during of reading/research and writing. They are both in separate blocks on separate days (R/R will be on MWF and W on T/TR/Sat AM).  Do this early in your graduate school career, it will come to great use when you are ABD.

 

- I also make sure my weekends are scheduled and not set without any clear tasks or intentions... a great way to waste time if you don't know what you are supposed to do for the day. I only do social things every other weekend (which are scheduled in advance to avoid conflicts) and also try to volunteer 4 hours a morning of every other Saturday.

What do you cook to freeze? Where do you get your recipes?

I'm domestically challenged. But I've always wanted to do that pre-prepared meal thing.

[WriterTyger]

As I worked through my MA, I made sure to find time to see friends at least one a week, even if it was just to grab a cup of tea and a scone.  You need reminders that there is life outside your department, research, classes, teaching load. 

 

I also made sure to meditate whenever I could, typically between my office hours and my own classes. 

 

And tea. Lots of it. 

[mockingjay634]

What do you cook to freeze? Where do you get your recipes?

I'm domestically challenged. But I've always wanted to do that pre-prepared meal thing.

 

http://onceamonthmeals.com/101-spring-freezer-meals-to-keep-your-life-sane/

 

101 recipes to pick from. feel free to switch up ingredients (e.g. chicken instead of pork, fish instead of chicken)

[iPsych]

My newest healthy habit is staying hydrated.  I wasn't so great at this before since a lot of my work requires me being out in the field and thus away from a bathroom.  Now, I religiously have a glass of water immediately after waking up and before going to bed and I usually have a glass before meals.  When I find myself sitting at my desk, watching TV or reading I always keep a glass of water near me and make sure that I finish at least one glassful before the end of my episode/chapter/whatever it is I'm doing.