Delete his number from your phone.
You know that each time that you pass his past texts in your inbox, you’ll feel the heartbreak all over again. So, why put yourself through that angst? Delete his number from your phone and don’t give it a second thought. This will stop you from being tempted to draft a text to him in your phone or worse–drunk text him over the weekend. You may think you have self-control, but it’s better to be safe than sorry, right?
Penn State University collegiette Rachel Lytle puts it bluntly: “Just literally stop any form of communication altogether. No Facebook, no Skype, no texting or phone calls. Nothing for a few months. You’re left with no choice but to move forward!”
For Erin, a student at Emerson College, breaking up with her boyfriend of two years was made easier by removing all reminders of him.
“At first it was difficult because I was so crushed by the break-up,” Erin says. “Eventually, I knew I had to quit torturing and ‘testing’ myself to see how I was doing. I blocked my ex on Facebook, made a separate file in my computer for old photos of us, put reminders of him in a box under my bed and deleted his number from my phone. I didn’t have the heart to throw all my memories away but I needed it all out of sight to help my heart heal.”
Scarborough says to take it a step further, “Make sure you clean out your voicemails. And while you’re at it, make it a clean sweep. Get rid of any old emails from him and purge your texts.
This may seem harsh, but you need to start creating your own life without your ex in it. The sooner you create a clean slate for yourself, the better. You’ve got a whole new life to start living!”
Avoid running into him, whether you mean to or not.
Admittedly, it can be hard not to run into your ex on a small college campus and you can’t help it if you happen to enroll in the same marketing class (ouch), but avoiding the places you used to go as a couple can help you get over him faster. Whether it’s that café where you always met for a cup of coffee or that theater where you met for movie dates every Thursday, those are the spots to avoid.
“You should stop making excuses to walk by his favorite bar ‘just to see’ if he’s there,” says Kate Miller from the University of San Francisco. “My roommate did that all the time when she broke up with her boyfriend and it just made things harder for her. I’m sure running into him all the time didn’t help.”
If you have a mutual friend, ask about when your ex will be at certain places so you can avoid going there around that time. Try not to overdo this, though—constantly planning your life around him could make it hard to forget him. If you go to the same fitness center, switch up your routine by going for a run around the neighborhood instead of doing the elliptical at the gym. If you’re trying to get over him, seeing him everywhere only makes you hurt more. You can take this opportunity to find new hangout spots and make new circles of friends.