12 Bad Habits to Avoid In College

While I’ve written a whole post about Good Habits You Should Start Now, bad habits are (obviously) a lot easier to get into. Isn’t that always the case? It’s always a lot easier to do the wrong thing than it is to do the right thing and it’s always easier to stay up until two in the morning and eat pizza and chips than it is to go to bed at a ~reasonable~ time and eat some spinach.

These are some bad habits I found myself and my peers getting stuck in throughout college and I’m hoping that I can help you avoid them or stop them if you already do them. I’m also totally hoping that writing this can help me actually stop all of these bad habits. So far so good. Without further ado here are twelve bad habits to avoid in college.

1. Completing assignments the night before they’re due.

I like to lay out the entire week and write down when things are due that week so I have an idea of the amount of time I have to complete something along with all of the other things due that week. When you complete things the night before you stress yourself out and seriously narrow down the amount of time you have to complete something.

2. Eating only microwaved food.

I know–microwaved food is really easy and when you’re hungry you feel like eating ASAP, not waiting for things to cook. The truth is, a lot of recipes don’t take very long to cook. A great way to ensure you’re not relying on microwaved food is to map out the days of the week where you have extra free time for lunch or dinner and cook yourself a meal. It doesn’t need to be a fancy meal but even something as simple as a grilled cheese is much better than something you shoved in the microwave.

Another great tip for when you’re really hungry and are feeling tempted to just heat up some frozen nuggets is to snack while you cook. I love eating baby carrots with roasted red pepper veggie dip while I cook!

3. Skipping meals.

There’s no excuse for this! If you know you’re going to have a busy day or a lot of classes, pack snacks with you or make meal plans in advance. If it makes it easier, make meal plans with friends so you’re forced to keep them and eat actual food. While I did suggest avoiding microwave food, microwave food is always a nice quick, last-minute meal and there are some healthier options.

4. Not doing laundry often enough.

Stop waiting until you’re desperately searching for another pair of underwear or digging through dirty laundry to find something to wear! When you have a chunk of free time, do laundry. Like, when you’re watching a bunch of Netflix shows, put your laundry in. It’ll take you a few minutes and you can continue watching your shows while feeling like a productive champion.

Also, keep track of your clothes to gauge when you’re due for time with the washers and dryers. If you notice that your supply of underwear is dwindling, do laundry! For me, the time to do laundry is when my top five favorite shirts and dresses that I wear all of the time are all dirty. Whoops. Also, bonus if you wash your bed sheets that probably never get washed.

{ Related: The Ultimate Guide to Doing Laundry in College }

5. Skipping morning/night classes.

Sometimes you get stuck in early classes and just have to deal. Set ten alarms if you have to, just get there on time! Missing class almost certainly will impact your grade. Being late isn’t much better.

Night classes can be pretty bad as well and I find myself often forgetting about them because I feel like once the afternoon is over, my courses should be done. Nope! If you, like me, have trouble remembering that class can still happen when it’s dark outside, set an alarm! It might seem weird to set an alarm at like 7 PM, but it’ll ensure that you get to your night class on time.

{ Related: The Collegiate’s Guide to (Smartly) Skipping Class }

6. Not calling home enough.

It’s easy to get really busy and forget to call home, but it’s always a nice thing to check in on your family or friends from home. If you’ve got time between classes or a long walk to class, why not make a quick phone call? I’m guilty of this and I’m guilty of writing about not doing this a lot. I think I’m hoping if I write about it enough it’ll actually stick.

7. Never working out.

The gym at school is free and usually pretty nice. Go to the gym at least once a week–it’s not much but you’ll definitely be able to pencil an hour into your schedule. Even if you hate going to the gym (I feel you), find an alternative workout. Many schools offer one credit classes for things like dance, yoga or boxing and some schools also offer free on-campus Zumba classes or POP Pilates.

{ Related: 10 Easy Ways To Be Healthier } 

8. Pulling all-nighters.

Usually it’s just easier to wake up early the next morning. This can be avoided if you minimize on procrastination and budget your times but if you absolutely must pull an all-nighter, at least try not to do it too often. This also ties in nicely to my next bad habits to avoid.

9. A poor, irregular sleeping schedule.

This might be a habit you don’t want to change, but having a normalized sleep schedule can really benefit you. Lately I’ve been trying to get to sleep by 1 AM (which still isn’t that great) and wake up at around 9:30 unless I have a morning class. Obviously I’m not some sort of magical goddess who actually follows this every single day (I’m HUMAN. Sometimes I don’t want to end my OITNB binge or wake up super early). With class times and plans it can be hard to regulate these times, but as long as you don’t vary them a ridiculous amount, a somewhat regular sleep schedule will make you feel much more energized and less sleepy during the day. AKA, you can drink less coffee to stay alive if you so choose.

10. Biting off way more than you can chew.

GUILTY! I do this constantly and I always have people telling me that I need to slow down and stop overworking myself. I usually don’t listen but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.

{ Related : How to be Ambitious Without Burning Out }

11. Sticking to the same group of people.

Branch out! This doesn’t really seem like it should be one of the “bad habits to avoid in college” but in a way, sticking to what you know and not branching out is a pretty bad habit to fall into.

If you already have a squad or a ride or die, that’s great, but meeting new people is really easy in college and expanding your social circle can be really amazing. Some great ways to do this is striking up conversations with classmates, joining a new club or even having your friends invite their friends you might not know to your next hang out.

{  Related: Guide To Joining Clubs in College }

12. Excessive snacking. 

I don’t know about you but when I’m home and bored, I just eat snacks. It’s out of hand and such a bad habit. A great way to prevent excessive snacking is to keep your snacks out of reach and out of sight. Mine are down two flights of stairs in the kitchen AKA if I want them, I’m going to have to trek up and down steps for them. Another great tip is to chew a piece of gum or brush your teeth, which can stop you from wanting to snack or you can even only purchase healthy snacks.

I tried purchasing mostly healthy snacks this year and while I’m still yearning for some chocolate chip cookies and chips, I find myself snacking less and more thoughtfully now that my options are a lot healthier. Some of my favorite healthy snacks are string cheese, Snap Pea Crisps in the Cesar flavor, roasted red pepper hummus and pretzel sticks and baby carrots with veggie dip.

{ RELATED: 15 Things to Avoid in College }

What are some of your worst habits in college?