January hits and you make a promise to yourself: “I’m going to be on my A-game. This is my year.” You’re studying all the time, your schedule is organized, your planner is colour coded to the max, and you’re handing in assignments three days before they’re due.
You’re going strong for a month. A month and a half, even.
Then comes reading week – you get an entire week off from assignments, lectures, and zoom calls. Sure, you love the routine you’ve settled into, and productivity feels great. Yet, you find yourself asking, “What if I just give myself a whole book-free week, and take the break I know I deserve?”
Here’s the real question: why should you have to choose?
In my first year of university, I made the mistake of picking between maintaining productivity and enjoying an entire week of doing absolutely nothing. I started off the year strong, positive I’d be a bookworm all semester. Come reading week, I didn’t touch any school work for seven days — my brain felt fried from midterms and I knew I needed a break — it was downhill from there. Unfortunately, I have the bad habit of over indulging in me-time, which causes me to lose the steady grip I had on myself (I barely remembered how to hold a pencil after summer vacations). I couldn’t bounce back into the same grind-mode routine I had going on, and I ended up spending less and less time on my studies as the semester continued.
So, to break out of that slump, I switched it up last semester. Sure, reading week is called reading week for a reason. You’re supposed to be catching up on your work and preparing for those upcoming tests, hopefully getting ahead of your studies. More commonly though, it’s the universal time to throw away all your worries, book a trip with your friends, and have an “unforgettable” experience (half of which you forget anyways, because of all the alcohol). While the latter sounds like a great option, oftentimes it ends up being counterproductive.
Thankfully, I’ve found the perfect way to maintain a healthy balance between relaxation and studying during reading week, so that you can keep up with your classes while getting the tranquility you deserve.
- Reset your sleep schedule
If you’re anything like me, sleeping is the most important and favourite part of your day. Sometimes, especially before midterms, life gets super hectic and we neglect those eight hours of sleep that our body so desperately needs to function. Reading week is the perfect time to readjust your sleep schedule to a healthy amount. Now, this doesn’t mean you should party until the sun comes up and sleep eleven hours the following day just because you can. It means resetting your body’s clock by choosing a normal time to go to bed, that you know can maintain throughout the rest of the semester. Studying until 2am and getting six hours of sleep doesn’t do you any favours, but neither does overindulging — so switch out those bad habits for some healthier, sturdier ones.
2. Cut down your study time
No, you shouldn’t shove your textbooks under your bed for the entire week, regardless of how sick you are of looking at them. Still, that doesn’t mean you have to dedicate all hours of the day to your studies either. A little break never hurt anyone, and a 24/7 grind-mode isn’t always the healthiest option. So, this week you can turn those six-hour study days into two hours without feeling guilty. That way, you’re still giving yourself the mental breather you deserve, but not falling behind. Balance is the key, and once you perfect that you can thrive in your classes without feeling like you’re drowning.
3. Keep your brain-juices flowing
I’m sure we’re all sick of listening to lectures and staring at our laptop screens. Say you do want to take a longer break, and decide to take a few rest days instead — that’s totally okay. Despite my adamance on not falling out of your study routine, I still had a day or two last reading week where I didn’t touch a textbook (nobody’s perfect). To balance it out, though, I kept my brain active doing other activities that I enjoyed. If I had an off-day, I’d compensate by reading a book for a couple hours, or listening to a French podcast about a topic that interested me, which was way better than listening to French lectures. Do a fun puzzle, watch a cool documentary, or learn a new recipe. A day without studying won’t kill you, and it’s possible to remain educational outside of the classroom, so pick up some productive hobbies.
4. Make time for YOU
The whole point in resetting your schedule is to make it perfect for you, something that you’re sure to maintain throughout the year. What good would any schedule be if you didn’t make time to relax? Maintaining productivity is important, but it’s only effective if you’re balancing it with things that allow you to loosen up and have a good time. I plan out time to see my friends every week and bake a sweet treat, because it’s something that I know I can keep up with throughout the semester, and it puts me at peace. Focus on those key, blissful things that make you smile, and make sure you schedule them into your planner when you’re organizing your days — just pick something this week and keep it constant.
Balance, balance balance.
You won’t do yourself any favours if you’re all burnt out, trust me (or if you’re having so much fun that you forget how to hold your pencil). Maintaining that healthy balance between leisure time and studying is the key to productivity and happiness. Off-days are bound to happen, and sometimes you might have to study until your eyes feel like they’re going to fall out. Despite that, we’re all in school by our own will, because we chose what we wanted to do. So, we should spend every moment trying to make the best of it, and making sure we’re actually enjoying ourselves.