Work Hard, Play Hard, Take Care of Yourself Hard.

How to make self-care work for you.

By Phoebe Stern

We’ve all heard “work hard, play hard”, but where does that leave us mentally and physically? As someone who cares about my grades and loves a good night out (or two or three), I am always wondering when and how to make time for myself to recharge, rest, and recover. Through plenty of weekend benders and hours spent in the library, I’m realizing that a “work hard, play hard” lifestyle isn’t sustainable unless you take care of yourself hard, too. So what are some realistic and manageable ways to improve your self-care while also maintaining the other parts of your life? Because self-care shouldn’t take over your life, it should add to it. 

First things first: figure out the kind of self-care you enjoy. Self-care is not one-size-fits-all. For instance, my roommate and I have two very different ideas of a Sunday reset. She loves deep cleaning the kitchen and vacuuming the living room, while I enjoy sleeping in and later heading to a café to study. Yours might fall somewhere in between. 

Start by writing down your dream day. Be as descriptive as possible; no detail is too small. I’m talking time stamps, specific places, meal and drink orders, name-dropping—the whole nine yards. In my dream day, I’d treat myself to a fresh, bouncy blowout, new nail set, $8 matcha, and sushi dinner. Unfortunately, that’s not realistic every day.  

The next step is to ask yourself: How can I integrate the things I love most into my daily life in a realistic way that supports my self-care? 

For me, accessible and low-commitment acts of self-care are the easiest to incorporate into my daily routine. Getting my hair done turns into wearing a cute outfit that makes me feel confident. An aesthetic café turns into making my bed every morning and opening my shades. Other versions look like listening to Taylor Swift on my walk to class, dinners with my roommates, a hot shower, long naps, or reading before bed. While these are simple actions, with intention, they can become grounding, comforting, and even transformative. 

Wellness and self-care do not have to mean a strict diet, a 75 Hard challenge, or a perfectly regimented bedtime routine. As college students, we are here to learn beyond the classroom. Sometimes that means studying for four hours straight in Mugar. Other times it means a Thursday night in Fenway. As someone who used to repeat “work hard, play hard” to myself like a bible verse, I can admit that when I didn’t make space to care for myself, I burned out. 

At this time of year, we’re all slammed with finals, presentations, securing summer jobs, preparing for MarMon, and trying to make the most of the last few weeks of the semester. With so little time left, it’s easy to feel pressure to make every minute productive. So this is my reminder to myself and to you: self-care, however it fits into your life, is productive. In fact, it’s what fuels you to work hard and play hard.