Winter break is the easiest time to get stuck watching Netflix in bed all day, loading up on snack foods full of carbs and sugar, or doing damage online shopping with money you don’t have. Sometimes staying productive is extremely unappealing when you can lounge around all day and do whatever you want. Although coming back for the spring semester is a drag, getting back into your daily routines can be even harder. Here are five simple steps that will make your transition back to school much easier.
1. Purchase a planner.
For college students, planners are a must! They are the only way you will remember to do everything scheduled into your busy life. Not only are planners essential for accomplishing all of your duties, they can also look pretty! Many companies are now making cute planners, ensuring that we don’t have to look like major geeks pulling out a big, ugly notebook in the middle of class. Exam dates, appointments, birthdays, parties, dinners out, and much more can be written down in them. Buying a planner will promise you that your world will be together in one place!
2. De-clutter your dorm room.
Yes, I’m aware cleaning totally sucks. However, dedicating an hour or two to making your living space more enjoyable is definitely worth it. Start with getting rid of last semesters papers, books and whatever other junk you have been holding onto. This will leave you with an organized desk so that you can be ready to study for your first exam. Next, wash all your sheets and blankets…because who wouldn’t want to sleep on nice smelling sheets? If you have the space, you can also rearrange your furniture to make your room feel like a whole new home. Get cleaning, ladies!
3. You are what you eat.
You know that annoying saying your parents always told you growing up, “you are what you eat?” Well, I just said it. College is the perfect time for midnight fast food binges. Everyone can admit they are repeat offenders of late night Jimmy John’s and Pita Pit. When doing so, you don’t think twice because, “you will go to the gym tomorrow to burn it off.” Which of course never happens. If you eat crappy foods, you will feel crappy…simple as that! I am not saying you can’t indulge in a warm chocolate moose cake on a Sunday night, but you have to do it in moderation. Think twice before you spend that extra ten dollars on Pizza Hut at three in the morning, because will it really be worth it when you wake up?
4. Make procrastination your enemy.
Usually when we receive a project that is due the last day of class, we immediately put it off for months. Why start something that isn’t due for a whole semester? If this is your way of thinking, then you are WRONG! Starting early is key when it comes to lengthy projects. Right now it may seem as if the project is do-able in a few hours towards the end of the semester, however we’ve all learned the hard way that this is completely false. Waiting until May comes around is a horrible idea because you will be busy with studying for finals, finishing up your internship project, or preparing to go home for the summer. Start early and you will feel one hundred percent less stressed out once the final weeks roll around! Give it a try and you will be amazed by the results!
5. Focus on the present, not the past.
Did you have a bad breakup before you went home for winter break? It is time to get over it and move on. This might seem harsh, but it’s a new semester, a New Year, and a new start. Focusing on last semester is pointless because it already happened. You have no control over what has happened in the past, so it is time to delete it and focus on what is in your hands NOW. You had all of winter break to continue to stress about your boyfriend dumping you, but now is time to let it go. Being able to have a clear mind in the beginning of a semester will not only make you happier, but it will also help you excel in school. Focus more on schoolwork and less on your loser ex-boyfriend who broke your heart. He wasn’t that cute anyways, right?