September
Whether you had a restful summer or maybe went out a bit too much, settling back into a school routine can be a challenge. Between managing classes, societies, school friends, and those who are long-distance, we all have a lot on our plates. Towards the end of August, I began to feel overwhelmed: how could I successfully start a new routine this school year? Yet as fate may have had it, while travelling with my friends last week, I overheard a conversation about this exact stressor. The group of girls in front of us was comparing the first of September to New Year’s, coining the term ‘autumn loading’ to describe the upcoming month. While I dismissed thoughts of routine in my final moments of chaos, partying, and beach days, that conversation stuck with me as I set my fall objectives.
In St. Andrews, it can be pretty easy to fall out of routine; supplementing morning lectures for coffee dates, afternoon library sessions for a ‘quick’ drink at The Central, and saying yes to a weekend trip over catching up on readings. And while those social outings are essential for our livelihood and mood… we do have to remember that this idyllic town we live in does revolve around education!
And so, in the way that I usually set a list of three to five goals for the New Year, I figured that a similar system could be applied to this September. Setting attainable goals is daunting, and I most always find myself falling short of what I set out to do; therefore, we need to be realistic. Rather than say “I will go to the gym every day for an hour”, why don’t you aim to do movement every day? Or, instead of saying, “I will never eat out this school year,” why not aim to cook five days a week?
Another step towards creating a successful autumn routine is diversifying your goals. I have set a goal in wellness, in school, in time management, and in outside-of-the-classroom learning. Goals do not have to be strictly about working out, as I feel New Year’s goals seem to be; there is so much growth to be done in every aspect of our lives. From screen time to sleep schedules to cultivating healthy relationships, wellness can come in many forms.
A huge goal of mine this past summer was to read more often, and so I set out to read for twenty minutes a day. Twenty minutes turned into thirty, then an hour, and eventually into a book or two a week. I ended up falling in love with it and am excited to incorporate this into my school life routine. Something I intended to do for just a few minutes of my day has become an integral, enriching, and stress-releasing piece of my day. You can fall in love with the outcomes of your goals and experience their benefits in such a short period of time; perhaps you take a language night class here and end up knowing some conversational German for the Christmas Markets this winter!
And finally, you do not need to tackle every goal by yourself. A September New Year’s dinner party could be a great way to kick off the back-to-school season. Grab some old magazines, wine, and get crafty with some vision boards for your semester. Turning goal setting into something to look forward to could be the change you need — rather than dreading the change, embrace it! And include your friends, encourage one another, and set goals that can be accomplished together!
With all the challenges of being a university student, finding stability in a good routine will help you find yourself much more equipped to handle student life. So, instead of waiting to set your New Year’s resolutions till January, give yourself a head start and begin today.