It’s spring break! A time to relax, forget about school, kick up your feet, and toss your worries aside…for a week. For me, spring break is a tough time. It’s just starting to feel like summer, and sometimes this one week goes to my head, and I mentally clock out for summer break already. Unfortunately, this means that the next week when I go back my brain just doesn’t want to write any more essays or study, and I downward spiral through the last two months of school. It’s easy to forget that we still have half of a semester left when we get back, and at college that’s valuable material that you are paying for and could really help you down the road. The mindset that we get into over spring break can really set us up for failure or success depending on whether we stay motivated. Here are some ways to still enjoy break, but to help you stay somewhat on track and ultimately help you out when, sadly, we have to part with spring break.
1. Stay Active
Go on a bike ride or a walk to keep your body moving. It can be easy to lay around like a couch potato all break long, but try to fight the feeling! Getting up and moving is a great way to keep your mind away from the idea that this break will last forever. Keeping your body active will help keep your mind active as well.
2. Use Your Planner
Usually over breaks, my planner sits in my backpack and gathers dust until I discover it a week later, full of things I probably should have done over break. However, when I pull it out once a day and structure my day, I find that I feel more productive and on top of things, and then using it when I return to school is less of a burden. Even if I’m scheduling things like eating food or running to Target for a new pair of flip flops, it gives a boost to my day and motivates me to get the little things done that I know I should.
3. Read
Personally, I love to free read. However, the farther into high school and then especially college I’ve gotten, the less time I have to sit down and read a book that I actually enjoy reading. This keeps you semi in the academic mindset, but not in a way that is tedious or actually school work at all.
4. Don’t Fall Completely Out of Routine
Breaks are a great time to catch up on sleep, and I am all for that, but try to keep a similar routine as the one you have for school. For example, if you usually go to bed around one and wake up at eight, then going to bed at four a.m. and sleeping until two in the afternoon over break is probably not a great idea. When you go back to school, your sleep schedule will be all messed up, and you will feel even more tired than before break. The same thing goes for food schedules. It’s important to continue eating at your usual meal times to keep your body happy and on track.
5. Eat Healthy
In addition to eating regular meals, be sure you aren’t stuffing yourself with junk food. Especially if you go on vacation, it’s likely you’ll be eating out more than you usually do. Taking good care of your body over break is key to ensuring that you will have energy and feel good coming out of break and going back into school. Sometimes if I am at home it’s easier to eat healthy than when I am in college because there are more options, and I have more time to fix myself something that is good for me. So, by starting this routine, it will set you up to eat healthy when you return from break for the last couple of months as well.
6. Try Something New
Whether you’re staying home or going on a trip, spring break is a great time to try new things. If you’re staying home, maybe this is picking up a new hobby or teaching yourself to play an instrument. If you’re going on a trip, there are plenty of opportunities to branch out and do something adventurous, like ziplining or parasailing! Either way, learning something new is a great way to keep in the mindset of a student, but in a fun way!
7. Get Outside!
Even if you’re not taking a trip somewhere, if you live in the midwest this is a rare year where it is actually good weather for spring break! So get outside and spend some time in the gorgeous weather. It’s your last chance before you come back and are cooped up studying for the last couple months of school. Getting some fresh air and Vitamin D before returning to school will definitely boost your mood and your motivation.
8. Look Nice Sometimes
I, too, fall into the trap of sweatpants, leggings and t-shirts all spring break long, but it’s good to fight this sometimes! It’s also good to stay comfy, especially if your audience for the day is your dog, but every now and then get out in public and make an effort when you do. Looking cute now and then helps keep you in a productive state of mind and definitely helps combat spring break jealousy if you aren’t going anywhere. Who cares if your roommate went to the Bahamas if you’re out on the town looking amazing right here in the midwest.
9. Make a Spring Break To-Do List
I don’t mean a to-do list like a list of chores, but more along the lines of things you want to do over break for yourself. On my to-do list I put a couple recipes that I wanna make and then pig out on, some things I want to accomplish like riding a new trail on my bike, hitting up the local lake one day, and making sure I see a couple specific friends from home. By making this list and then accomplishing the items on it, you’ll feel like you got the most out of break that you possibly could have, so even though you’re sure to be sad to go back to school, you’ll know that your break was productive and that you did everything that you wanted to do.
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