Mindfulness for College Students: How Peace of Mind Helps You Handle Day-to-Day Chaos
By Ashlyn Hickey
Fall 2025
Oh sh*t! I have an assignment due tonight, a test tomorrow, plans to hang out with my friend after class, and then work at 5. I don’t know how I’m going to get through today, running on 5 hours of sleep. I feel like I’m always busy and never have time to relax.
This is what life can feel like as a college student. It’s not unusual to feel like life is filled with so much chaos, but how do some people deal with it better than others? It’s called having peace of mind and practicing mindfulness.
What is Mindfulness and Peace of Mind?
Unfortunately, a lot of us experience burnout from school, relationships, work, or other outside priorities. Clinical social worker Treasure Lundskog, who works at a private practice in Utah, says, “We end up getting burned out because we are doing a lot of stuff that isn't really important to us.” It makes sense now why it’s so hard for me to start homework or clean my room: when I have to do something that isn’t important to me, I'm not motivated to do it, which is when I experience, as Treasure says, “Value Overwhelm.” Value overwhelm is when your values are compromised by external factors, which can lead you to experience stress and anxiety.
That’s where mindfulness can help. Mindfulness is “a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment.” You know that inner feeling you have when you’re completely free of troubles? That’s what peace of mind is. Researchers say that peace of mind is known as “a state of mental and emotional balance and calm, free of worries, fears, or tension.” Here’s a video that explains how to be calm and peaceful within. You may be thinking, “Well, I’m always dealing with something and never get to experience that feeling.” Lucky for you, I’m here to tell you that there are ways to accomplish peace of mind even without being completely free of troubles. Studies have found that “focusing on the present can have a positive impact on health and well-being.” This research shows that practicing mindfulness can lead to peace of mind and improve mental health.
What Mindfulness Looks Like in Daily College Life (Real Examples)
Having peace of mind can look different from person to person. One example of what it could look like is you have an exam next week; usually, you would stress yourself out, but with peace of mind, you are focused on what you can control. You can’t control the fact that you have an exam, but you can control how you prepare for it. You are at peace with the situation because you know you did what you could to influence the outcome (your grade). Setting boundaries can also have a big impact on your peace of mind. Junior College student at North Central College, Katie Godo says, “… A small boundary of telling your friends […] “hey, I'm not going to go out to dinner because I need to study for my test. That's controlling my stress about the test coming up.” By setting those boundaries, you are doing what you know will bring you more peace in the future.
Why Mindfulness is Important for College Students’ Mental Health and Stress Levels
I’m sure many of us struggle with “living in the moment” because we are either worrying about the future or replaying the past. Katie says, “I think when I felt like I had it all together a little bit more was when I was writing down my homework assignments, and I was telling myself, ‘Okay, this is the order in which we're doing things. You're not allowed to think about this one thing until you accomplish this thing." When we start focusing on other things besides the task at hand, stress can arise, which can lead to burnout. “Stress can take a toll on your physical and mental well-being,” which is why it’s important to practice mindfulness when you start to feel overwhelmed by the 20 other things you have to get done. Studies have found many benefits that can come from practicing mindfulness, including:
Decreased stress and anxiety
Improved focus
Less emotional reactivity
Boosts to working memory
More cognitive flexibility
Relationship satisfaction
Reduced rumination
I know many people say, “just live in the moment” as a cute little phrase, but I’m not saying it to be cute; I’m saying it because it truly matters and protects your mental health. Slowing down to focus on one thing at a time will help reduce stress and burnout. Mindfulness helps you approach your day with more control, rather than letting the chaos run the show.
Why Many College Students Struggle with Mindfulness and Peace of Mind
Clinical Social Worker and Therapist Dr. Paige Koos says, “You can cause the chaos in your own life by reacting impetuously. […] take a couple of seconds to ask yourself, ‘Is this really the best way to handle this situation? […] It's always better to be proactive, because so many people create chaos because they're reactive.’” I know how it feels to be in college and want to go out and have fun with your friends, but your actions can have either good or bad consequences on your future. Taking a few seconds before acting can reduce stress for your future self. Another reason why some people struggle with mindfulness and peace of mind is that we want to live up to others’ expectations of us. Treasure says that there’s a “link between mental health and feeling like life is chaotic, if you're trying to live by things that are important to someone else.” I’m sure we’ve all experienced pressure from wanting to please other people at some point. This brings us back to the importance of setting boundaries for ourselves and how it can help sustain our peace of mind. Lastly, the main reason people struggle is that we are just straight-up busy. As I said earlier, we are constantly thinking about the next thing we have to do. Katie says, “Scheduling my time out is literally the only way that I can actually manage everything.” We may not think we have enough time in a day to let ourselves breathe for just 10 minutes, but the truth is, we do. We just have to learn how to schedule our time better.
How to Practice Mindfulness: Simple Daily Habits for Students
Instead of stressing ourselves out about everything that’s going on around us, we need to focus more on what really matters in our lives. As Dr. Paige says, “You don't need to go after everything. Just the things that are going to make a difference in your life.” Having good judgment and picking apart one thing at a time, starting with our top priority, will make it easier on our minds. We can practice mindfulness in daily activities. Some examples of mindfulness exercises include:
Paying attention
Live in the moment
Accept yourself
Focus on your breathing
More structured mindfulness exercises include:
Body scan meditation
Sitting meditation
Walking meditation
Mindfulness doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming; it starts with the tiny choices you make throughout the day. Here’s a quick video demonstrating the body-scan meditation mindfulness technique. Training your mind to be present in the moment, whether you’re paying attention to your breath, slowing down long enough to notice your thoughts, or choosing to stay present in the moment, can help you build a more balanced way of moving through your day.
Mindfulness doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming; it starts with the tiny choices you make throughout the day.
Tips for College Students to Gain Peace of Mind and Reduce Stress
Many college students are affected by mental health. I’ve been there. I know what it feels like to have what feels like a heavy weight on your chest and a mind that won’t turn off. I struggled with anxiety throughout high school and into college. But here are some tips I’ve learned throughout the years:
Setting boundaries — setting boundaries and sticking to them — for yourself is an act of self-respect.
Give yourself grace — reminding myself that it’s not the end of the world and that “it could always be worse” has helped me stay grounded and calm in many situations. For example, failing an accounting exam (which actually happened), I told myself, ‘It’s okay, I’ll do better on the next one’ (and I did).
Take it one thing at a time — I would say one day at a time, but even then, you can still feel overwhelmed by everything you have going on in a day. Focusing on one task helps you stay on track instead of stressing over everything all at once.
Manage your time — scheduling out what you need to get done, work, plans with friends, etc., helps you to stay organized and brings you back to taking it one thing at a time. This is something I am still working on myself!
Take care of yourself — getting the right amount of sleep, nutrients, and activity your body needs to stay healthy can keep it from shutting down on you.
Learn your values — you can take a test for this if you’re unsure — but knowing what I value most in life has been my guide in prioritizing my time and staying aligned with what matters most to me.
Use your resources and the people around you for support — nobody is alone. Having people around you that you can lean on for support is so good for your mental health.
Have an outlet — whether it’s a hobby or an activity — having a healthy outlet you enjoy can help bring you peace.
Bringing It All Together: Creating Peace in a Busy Life
The main point is that nobody is going to have it all together. We are almost always going to have some kind of chaos in our lives, but gaining peace of mind doesn’t require a perfect routine; it’s all about intention. Everyone’s path to peace looks different, so learning what works best for you is the first step. When you take small steps to set boundaries, manage your time, and take care of your mind and body, it all adds up to helping you achieve peace of mind even in the middle of chaos.
“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it”
– Charles R. Swindoll
Ashlyn Hickey is a Junior at North Central College, double-majoring in Business Management and Marketing. She began her college journey at the College of DuPage in 2023 before transferring to North Central in the fall of 2025. Over the years, Ashlyn has learned to manage the stress and anxiety that come with balancing academics, work, and personal life through practicing mindfulness. She has developed a strong passion for helping others find peace of mind amid life’s chaos. Beyond her focus on mental health and self-care, Ashlyn enjoys listening and playing music, working out, and spending time with friends and family. Looking ahead, she plans to open her own business that reflects her faith-based values.