You’ve made it. You’re halfway done. Just two more months. Before you know it, you’ll be relaxing, backpacking through the mountains of Switzerland, or having absolutely nothing to do after a semester of hard work. The latter might just be the greatest feeling on Earth after a tough term.
In the meantime, you’re still just halfway through the term and you’re still a student. It can be difficult to return to the student life after reading week and for the remainder of the term, but it is imperative to your success. Here are some tips to help you:
Start going to bed incrementally earlier every night
If you’re like me, you spend reading week watching Netflix until 3:00 am and waking up at noon. When you return to school, however, this schedule doesn’t work. To correct this, start going to sleep an hour earlier than you had over reading week, and each day after, go to sleep an hour earlier than the day before. Soon you’ll find your sleeping schedule back on track!
Limit your phone usage before bed
Using your phone or laptop stimulates your brain, and the light convinces your brain that it is daytime, and therefore not the time to sleep. Watching videos is also addictive and can leave you wondering how it became 5:00 am; after all, just a few episodes ago, it was only midnight. I recommend simply reading a book before bed. Particularly a book that isn’t page-turning, but is still interesting, such as a biography.
Force yourself to go to those early morning classes
It is essential that you attend those “end-of-the-world” 8:00 am classes and it is imperative that you get enough sleep the night before so you can pay close attention to the lesson. After your break, if you get into a habit of avoiding those morning classes, you’ll miss important concepts (that will probably appear on your final exam) and may fall behind.
Reflect on how you spent your week and work accordingly
If you spent your reading week lounging around, avoiding work, then you need to work at a much faster pace. If you found that you worked really hard over the break, you can take some time to relax, or you can follow the tip below!
Get ahead
Finals are coming up fast, and before you know it, you’ll be over your head in work again. It’s best if you use your time management skills to work ahead to alleviate some of the impending stress.
Physically or mentally create an image of what you’re working for
Create an image of yourself in two months, or two years. Are you on a beach? Are you smiling at your B+ in your most difficult class? Are you being accepted to a master’s program? Keep this image in your head, and work hard to get there.
By following some of these suggestions, you can get back into the rhythm of being a student and make it through these final months of studying!