When you live alone for work or personal reasons you suddenly find you have a lot of free time on your hands, this is especially the case when you work or study from home on a remote workstation, because there is less travel time and opportunities for socializing with colleagues. It’s important to remain disciplined when you find yourself in this situation, so make a schedule that works for you and try to stick to it. This schedule is an extension of the weekly schedule you followed when you were at school, get up early and eat a healthy breakfast before starting work.

Whether you work or study you will have days off, usually at the weekends and in the evenings, so how are you going to spend your time? If you don’t have some wholesome interests that connect with the things you enjoy or are curious about, you might slip into unhealthy habits. Living alone as a student is an excellent opportunity to explore your interests and discover new passions. If you’re a creative person, it might be an idea to take up a creative pursuit at a local class and learn something new, or you could meet new people at a club or community.

Once again, living alone requires discipline otherwise, you can slip into over-indulgence - this tends to happen because there is no one there to hold you to account. Diet is, therefore, crucial to get right because an appropriate diet is what you need to sustain a healthy body and brain. Once you are settled into your new HOP Property and your life as a student in a new town, it’s time to consider what you’re going to eat day-to-day. With a little bit of planning, you can buy what you need from the supermarket in one trip and save by buying more fruit and veg.

How you manage your lifestyle when living alone has a lot to do with your personality type. Those with extroverted personalities might find it more challenging to live alone and have so much free time in the evening and weekend; introverts, however, might have an easier time. Either way, it’s important to find your comfort zone, so you know where to go to recharge your batteries. If you’re an ‘extrovert, that might mean heading out to a club or a community to communicate with others; introverts might prefer a take-out and good movie to re-energize.

When you live alone, you have more alone time, and it can be easy to slip into negative mind-states, but there’s a lot to value about living by yourself. Try not to compare yourself to others or live in a fantasy; value your alone time and make the most of it - it won’t last forever.