Exercise
Even as a busy student or office worker, regular exercise is critical. Our bodies are machines that will break down if not maintained.
The health department recommends getting around 30-60 minutes of exercise per day, which can be divided in chunks and spread out over the week. It's better to get at least a bit of exercise than no exercise. It's helpful to commit to exercising at a consistent time (like every morning at 7:00-7:30AM, before things get busy).
I like to do an evenly-spaced combination of strength (weight-lifting), cardio (running), flexibility (yoga), and fun sports (basketball, tennis). Here's my weekly exercise schedule:
Mon: strength
Tues: run
Wed: strength
Thurs: run
Fri: strength
Sat: sports (tennis, soccer)
Sun: yoga, hike in nature
Strength training. For strength training, I’ve found the book Men’s Body Sculpting by Nick Evans and the website StrongLifts 5x5 to be comprehensive. If you’re new, it may be worth starting out with a personal trainer to check proper form (The gym Planet Fitness has free physical training sessions).
Running. The NYT has a nice guide on how to start running. The key point is to run around 30 minutes three days a week.
Sports. I've found that playing sports is very fun, energizing, and promotes social bonding through teamwork. Find a group (or at least one person) to play with. Also, make time for deliberate practice alone (I like to web search "how to serve a tennis ball" in advance).
Flexibility. There's many free online videos for yoga, stretching, and home exercises to follow along. Or just dance to your favorite music.
Posture. Stand up straight with your shoulders back. Motivating story in Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life.
Plan. Take a minute to find just one exercise to do this week and schedule it in your calendar (Example: I will do yoga in my room tomorrow at 11 am before lunch). If it's not scheduled, it won't get done. To double your likelihood of following through, please write down this statement: "I will do X exercise at Y time in Z location."