Reading week for Laurier students is officially here! We can finally relax a bit and take some time away from our screens. Often times though, I find that my reading weeks fly by and I don’t get nearly enough stuff done that I wanted or needed to before school starts again. If you’re in the same boat as me, here is a list of six productive ways to spend your reading week!
1. Fallen behind on school? Catch up!
If you are like me, sometimes you’ll fall behind a bit with classes. What I’m planning to do is set an hour or two aside each day to make sure all my lectures are up to date, and I have stuff done for any projects that may be due at the end of reading week! I’ve been making daily to-do lists and I try to be realistic with what I want to get done during the day! Nothing says motivating more than checking off those tasks as you get them done!
2. Work, or look for work
Although work is probably not a very exciting thing to be thinking about, it’s definitely a productive way to spend your reading week! I am fortunate enough to still have a job so I made sure to pick up a few shifts during reading week to make money so I don’t have to stress when school starts getting hectic again! If you don’t have a job, now could be the perfect time to start throwing your resumes out there, especially since summer vacation is coming. You can never be too early in applying for summer jobs, and especially now with COVID, looking early could help the chances of finding something before it’s too late!
3. Do something you enjoy
This break is for you, and you should definitely not solely focus on school or work! Make sure to do something you’ve been putting off that you enjoy, or start up a new hobby that you’ve been meaning to try! For me, I have some creative writing I’ve thrown to the side due to school and a book that I’ve been wanting to finish, so those are on my reading week to-do-list. I’m also going to make sure I get outside and do some hiking because it’s something I enjoy and it’s good for me!
4. GET OUTSIDE
Speaking of getting outside…Natural sunlight is so much more powerful than any supplement you can take, so make sure you get outside for at least ten minutes to get that Vitamin D! Even when it’s not super sunny, being outside is still healthy. You can literally just stand outside for a few minutes, or get your walking shoes on and go for a walk, a hike or a run! Either way, dedicate some of your time to the great outdoors, your mind and body will thank you.
5. Plan out the rest of the semester
I know, for me, that after reading week things are going to take it up a notch. I have more midterms and assignments getting thrown at me, so what better time to plan this out than during our week off when (hopefully) nothing is being thrown at us. I am going to make sure I have everything in my agenda that I need, as well as get a start on some assignments that are due soonish so they don’t sneak up on me. I’m also going to plan out a better workout routine that I can use to get some physical activity in while being stuck at home all the time! Maybe if I write it down, I’ll eventually stick to it!
6. Sleep
Last and not least, I will be sleeping. With school, my stress levels are always high and so it’s nice for them to be a little lower (never gone, though…never). With lower stress levels I find I am able to sleep a bit better and for longer so I will be sleeping a lot. You can never catch up on sleep, but I sure as hell am going to make it up to my body for the sleepless nights I’ve been having due to stress and school. What better time to sleep than now!
I hope that my plan can give you some ideas for how to spend our reading week! If you don’t get as much done as you want, don’t be hard on yourself. It can be hard to fit everything you’ve been needing and wanting to do in one week! I hope, though, that however you spend your week, you can relax! We are all hard at work with the never-ending school, so we all deserve the break!
Happy reading week Golden Hawks!