There’s no better feeling than waking up to your college town getting covered in snow, especially when you receive an email that says class is canceled! The hills are ready to be sledded, and the snowmen are ready to be built. Having multiple days off can feel like a mini winter break, but it can get to your head if you let it.
One of the downsides of these (sometimes unexpected) days off is that you have to go back to class and make up work. That can mean a lot of recorded lectures to catch up on, and other times, a professor going for an all-time-high-anxiety-spike award by handing out exams like Oprah.Â
I find it outrageously hard to lock back in after breaks (especially with the least-expected FSU snow days) and deal with piled-up classwork, and I know I’m not alone. If you’re in the same boat, here’s a list of the best ways I’ve found to get back into a routine after days off from college:
- Self-Care Journaling
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Self-care journaling may not be for everyone, but I find it incredibly useful to keep the right mindset when it comes to school. It’s hard to pour from an empty cup. Taking care of yourself and your well-being is step one to being successful in anything, especially school.
Journaling can help turn common self-care practices into an everyday routine. You can buy self-care journals from places like Target or Barnes & Noble, but you can also make your own! I created my journal out of an old spiral notebook, and it’s one of my favorite things in my dorm.
Every day, I write down how much water I drank, how long I slept, one thing I did for myself that day, one thing I did for someone else, and any creative writing ideas I had. A self-care journal can help you keep track of how you’re taking care of yourself. At first, I thought it’d be pretty useless, but after challenging myself to write for a week, I realized just how little water I drank.
After a break, self-care journaling can be a routine way to check in with yourself. It helps me manage stress from coursework and serves as a reminder to take care of myself.Â
- Setting Priorities
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Post-break stress can hit hard when all the work starts piling back up. There’s so much to do and not enough time to cram everything. As important as school may be, so is having a healthy social life and taking care of my body.Â
To set priorities, I start by writing down everything I need and want to do for that day, not the week. Then, I pick a top three or five to be my daily goal. I write these down somewhere I’ll remember and go through my day, checking them off. If I have time to get to the other things on my list, that’s great, but nothing to stress over. My list usually goes: homework (due tonight or tomorrow), gym, and (insert any obligation made with friends).Â
I find that the satisfaction of checking off something from my priority list helps me feel better about my day and avoid getting overwhelmed by work because I can see my progress. Doing three to five things in one day isn’t crazy. Lists are a great way to not get into an overwhelmed slump. It helps me keep the growth mindset of “things that can be done today will get done, and things that can be done later will still get completed… just later.”Â
- Setting Healthy Boundaries
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After a break, it’s super easy to let yourself get buried under piles and piles of work, but that isn’t always the most productive use of your time. Diving headfirst into work and sitting at a desk all day is admirable but not feasible for everyone. I like moving around and taking a break from staring at screens and notebooks every once in a while.Â
Trying to cram tons of information into your brain at one point is the easiest way to burn out your brain. Taking five to 60-minute breaks in one’s studying helps to refresh your brain and body and increases your energy, productivity, and ability to focus.Â
You could go for a walk, hang out with friends, do some yoga, or just watch some brain rot. What matters is that you’re setting healthy boundaries between you and your work!
I believe well-being always comes first, and hopefully, with good time management, you’ll have time to keep track of how well you take care of yourself!
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