Uni-Life Balance
Summer is great of course, but can also mean university assignments, exams and lectures. You want to enjoy summer, while still succeeding at uni - and end up not doing justice to either of those things. Here’s how you make sure to have a great summer, while still keeping up with uni! This is part 2 of our how-to-summer edition. Check out part 1 for tips on how to plan the perfect budget-friendly vacation.
Work first, then pleasure
Yeah yeah, we all know the saying. And often there's really something to it. But we say: Nope, wait, not so simple. It makes more sense to adjust to your own energy level and your own preferences, than simply applying the work first, then pleasure method. If you work better at night than during the day, it's kinda stupid to force yourself to spend your days feeling guilty that you can't get anything done and then actually get stuff done at night. Wouldn’t it make more sense to have some fun during those hours you don’t work well in anyways and sit down at your desk in the evening? Yup. Now for the summer thing: if possible, adjust to the weather. It's gonna be nice in the morning but getting chilly in the evening? Enjoy the sun first and then sit in the cool library. Try to adapt your study plan (which you defo should have) to your own summer preferences.
Studying outside? Mhh...
You’re probably familiar with this scenario: Your friends want to go to the lake, you on the other hand, have to study. You then compromise by taking your books to the lake to study there. And you of course end up not opening the books once. When you get home after you’re overwhelmed with guilt, which hinders you from studying then. If this sounds familiar, here's our tip: Don't do it! Don't study outside. If you want to have fun, have fun. If you need to study, study. Join your friends for a few hours, book-free, then go home. If you really want to study outside, do it alone, when the potential of distraction isn’t as high. We recommend always studying at a desk, though.
Bad conscience? Nope
This is actually the most important point when it comes to having a healthy university-summer-life balance. You need to work on erasing your guilty conscience when it comes to this balance. We know it's hard. But it's no use stressing yourself out about having fun, since this will impact your ability to study further. You are young and university time is supposed to be an amazing time and you should enjoy it, especially in summer! Of course you shouldn’t lose sight of your studies, but the middle way without stressing out too much, is the right one. And we promise: you can work on reducing guilty conscience.The best way to do so is to feel motivated about studying (and about having fun). There are some great resources out there, such as this video:
Be strong
This one is also absolutely a personality-thing, but if you're not an expert when it comes to self-control, you might want to work on that a little bit. Read up on our tips to keep working when you're just not feeling it as a first step!
To make sure your time on your desk is as effective as possible, so that you have waaay more time for fun, check out other students' notes on Studydrive!!