The beginning of another semester at university is always tough. You go from being able to sleep the day away, hanging out with friends until early hours in the morning, eating whatever and whenever you want, to bright and early classes, assessments and assignments, and drinking copious amounts of coffee to get through the day. Well, fear not, my friend, because today I am going to give you my top 5 tips to help make the transition from holiday mode to study mode as smoothly as possible.
1. Go to bed earlier than usual
We all know that the key to a good day is a good night’s sleep. As much as we would like to believe that we can keep up our late holiday bedtime, the reality is the early morning starts will catch up with you. Going to bed an hour earlier will not only help you get up earlier but will also increase your amount of restorative sleep. This means you will wake up rejuvenated and ready to take on the day!
2. Eat breakfast
We’ve been told since primary school that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But why is that? Well, Australian Red Cross1 explains that breakfast refuels the body with energy and nutrients to kickstart the day. If you don’t eat breakfast, you are more likely to feel lethargic and tired during the day, meaning you will not be able to concentrate in those three-hour classes. So, on your way out of the house, grab a banana, a piece of toast or a smoothie to refuel your body.
3. Have a look at the LMS before heading into class
Go to class prepared by checking out the LMS and the week’s content you are going to be covering. Do any required pre-readings and have a quick look over the lecture notes. If you want to be super organised, maybe even download and save the lecture/tutorial notes to your computer so you are ready to go. That way, as soon as you walk into class, you know what content is being covered and know what your teacher is talking about.
4. Create a semester assessment calendar
There is NOTHING worse than being in class and finding out that you have an assessment due THAT SUNDAY and you haven’t even started. Avoid the stress and panic by taking the time out to create an assessment calendar. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just a list of all your assessments and when/what week they are due, so that you can see what you have coming up and what you need to work on.
5. Be kind to yourself
Heading back to uni after a nice long break is never easy, so be kind to yourself. You may not get it all right the first week and may even be super, exhausted after every class – and that’s okay! Put aside some time out to have a self-care afternoon, head to the gym or walk the dog; chill out and unwind your mind. Take each week as it comes and smash out the semester!
Author: Jen Healey – ACPE Bachelor of Education (Physical and Health Education) Student.
