Hey everyone!
Apologies for the unintended absence. I cannot lie, school and the holidays took over without me realizing it, and unfortunately, writing got pushed to the back burner. I hope you were able to rest over the holidays, and if you weren’t, I hope you can make some time for rest now.
With that, I know for many university students, classes have started or will be starting within the next few weeks, so I thought it would be helpful to talk about some tips for getting back to routine post-holidays. I find that it’s easy to be motivated in the fall due to the “back-to-school” hype, but in the winter, that motivation can be lacking.
1. Plan your semester
Now, I promise I am not telling you that you need to plan everything because not even I do that; however, writing down the big things will save you in the long run. I use a digital planner similar to one you could buy on paper. I find this makes the most sense for me because I use my iPad daily, so I look at it daily. I recommend only using one planning method for everything; otherwise, it is easy to lose track of where things are. Planning methods can include a paper agenda, a digital one, a calendar (such as Google Calendar), and many other methods I haven’t even heard of. When choosing your method, I recommend choosing something that you can carry with you. This is handy because it allows you to update things as they come up.
Within the first week of the semester, I recommend taking some time to add all your assignment deadlines, exams, and other commitments to your planner. Doing this ahead of time helps you stay organized as the semester goes on. From there, I write weekly to-do lists throughout the semester to help me divide my work evenly to ensure it all gets done.
2. Attend your lectures
I know that after the first week of classes, attendance drops off for many classes, but I’m here to tell you, you should go to class. I get it, some classes don’t feel necessary, and feel like a waste of time, but I truly believe attending lectures will benefit you in the long run. When the semester begins, it can be difficult to get up and go to class, especially if you live somewhere with a cold climate; however, skipping lectures at the beginning only makes it harder to get back into the university routine. (I am aware that I probably sound like an annoying parent or professor, but sometimes, they have a point).
3. Connect with friends
Over the holiday break, we often reconnect with family or return home, so I recommend reconnecting with friends as soon as you can when school begins again. School can be very isolating at times, so it’s important to schedule intentional time with your friends as soon as possible. As someone who lived in residence for my first two years of university, which meant seeing my friends came very naturally. Now that I live off campus, I have to be more intentional about my time. Last semester, a few of my friends and I planned one day every week where we met up to study, chat, and hang out. Some days we talked for most of it, and others we barely spoke because of how busy school is, but either way we saw each other almost every week.
4. Make time for movement
Growing up, I was not the most active kid. I took P.E. class like everyone else, but my extracurricular sport was bowling, and while I do believe there is a physical aspect, it’s not the same as running around a soccer field. Since coming to university, I have started going to the gym, and I have become extremely comfortable with working out. Working out is great for your mental and physical health, so I cannot emphasize its importance enough. Whether that means you go for a walk or you do a hardcore CrossFit class, that movement is important and helpful for you. I am a professional overthinker, and the one thing that always helps me is going for a walk or a run to clear my head. You don’t have to make it complicated; movement can be stretching in your bedroom, taking a quick walk, or going to the gym.
5. Stay on top of your work
I know the beginning of the semester can feel slow, and it can feel like you have all the time in the world, but before you know it, midterms arrive, and it feels like you’re weeks behind. I recommend using this slower time to stay on top of things and get ahead if possible. Whenever I want to procrastinate, I always think to myself, “future Hailey will be grateful if you do this now.” I don’t know if that will help you, but finding a phrase that motivates you to get moving is something I recommend you do the work to find it.
I hope this helps provide some practical tips for getting back into the routine of university. The winter semester is hard because we often still feel burnt out from the fall semester, but I’m here to tell you that I believe in you. You can do hard things, and if you put yourself first and get moving you can get it done.
Bonus Tip
Make sure you take time for yourself! Whatever that may look like, read a book, watch a show, do a puzzle, or play a game. Take some time off social media and away from school to help keep your battery charged.
Thank you for reading! If you want to hear more from me, check out my Instagram here.
Hailey