Now that Freshers’ is over and you’re (hopefully) recovering from the infamous Freshers’ Flu, you’ve probably realised that university life does actually involve doing some work! Trying to balance a busy social life with your flatmates (whilst your lecturers inconsiderately keep setting more tasks) can be quite a challenge. Most students tend to put their efforts into going out and end up neglecting their work that suddenly piles up; and come Sunday evening they’re up late trying desperately to finish everything.
So, what is the solution to balancing your work so that you end up with a decent degree at the end of three years and also make the most of your university life at Leeds?
It’s likely that at the end of a busy day you’ve been set a reading, a group project and also got to find someone to copy notes from as you were probably half asleep during the morning! So, first things first: it’s time to get organised! Time management is the answer to getting your work completed and having the leisure time to go out shopping and hang out with your friends.
Therefore, buying a planner, sticking in a copy of your timetable and writing down key deadline dates will allow you to keep track of what needs to be done and when. Similar to keeping a ‘to-do-list’ you will feel satisfied and happier knowing you can tick off work that you have completed on time. And when you do have a night out you won’t have that guilty feeling knowing you should have stayed in and worked on that essay.
Essentials in the Union sell a student planner for around £6 and Paperchase also have some pretty ones or you could look on Amazon and find one for a bargain!
Although we all like to say and believe we’ll do our work as soon as we get home, there is always something that stops us from doing it! Your flatmate has some amazing clothes she wants to show you from Topshop that she’s considering ordering and wants your advice; and there’s that episode of America’s Next Top Model you absolutely have to catch up on so work will just have to wait. But, once you’ve finished catching up with all the TV you’ve missed, that work will still be waiting for you and you won’t have anything to look forward to afterwards, except leftover pasta from last night! So although it’s fine to have an hour or so when you get back from uni to do what you want, if you leave something enjoyable to do after doing your work, it will feel more rewarding knowing you’ve completed it beforehand.
Once you’ve mastered a routine of getting that boring seminar work out the way quickly and then finding time to do some online shopping, when you do go out you’re sure to have a brilliant night, especially as you know you won’t have too much work to do the next day with a hangover! Sometimes however, being there for that 9am start on a Friday morning is more of a priority than going to Mission with all your flatmates. If you’re lucky enough to not suffer from a lack of sleep and know that you’ll definitely be there despite getting to bed at 4am then by all means go out and party!
Unfortunately, the majority of us need our beauty sleep and have to therefore make the wise decision to go to bed with a hot chocolate instead and wake up feeling refreshed ready for that 9am start.
When it comes to the weekend, that’s the time to really let your hair down, with two whole days free, having nothing to do but recover from the night before. Fruity Fridays at the union should definitely be your first priority on a Friday night, and the best thing about going out then means you have Saturday to recover and you can use Sunday to finish any work needed to be done for Monday!
With your new planner bought and your priorities in the right order, there is no doubt that you’ll be the social butterfly of your group, whilst still receiving high marks for your work that you completed at least a week in advance. All that’s left to do is shop for a new dress and high heels ready for your well deserved night out in Leeds!