Like many fellow university students, I used to be a voracious reader. There was a time when I couldn’t get through a day away from home without (at least) two books in my backpack. Every spare moment I had would be spent devouring any book I could get my hands on.
Then, university hit.
Being bogged down with countless academic journals to read for school, my love for reading seemed to be entirely lost. However, just when I thought I would never read for pleasure again, I had a breakthrough.
The first thing I realized was that I needed to make time to sit down and have a quiet moment to myself. With a chaotic university schedule, it’s easy to let self-care slide. In fact, I had been so busy with university work that I hadn’t been allowing myself to enjoy any of the activities that I had enjoyed doing prior to the start of term.
By blocking off an hour a day where I would force myself to sit down and read one of the books that I had put on my reading list, I slowly found myself relying on that time to decompress and get some much-needed stress relief. This is vital for every student ⏤ reading may not be how you decompress, but there is likely another activity that will help you relax. You may not have discovered it yet!
The first book that got me back into my love for reading was Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. As a fan of the film adaption by Studio Ghibli, this book had been on my reading list for months. It proved to be the perfect introduction back into reading for pleasure, as I completed it in the span of a few days. Furthermore, it spurred me into reading the rest of the trilogy (Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways). If you’re a fan of fantasy books with a touch of reality, these books are for you!
However, not everyone is studying at home this term. Many have returned to campus and may find it difficult to find a quiet spot to sit and read/complete an activity that helps them decompress. However, there are still spots where you can find your moments of peace. One of my favourites (of course) is the library. While in regular times it could be difficult to find a fully quiet spot even in the library, the pandemic has led to fewer students being on campus. With this reduction in the student population, it should be far easier to find a quiet place to sit.
Another one of my favourite spots to decompress on campus is the Peter’s building. I would often arrive to classes a good 30 minutes ahead of time to see if I could find a seat somewhere in the building to read (usually on the second floor). While this building is busy, I never found it overwhelming enough to be particularly distracting.
Overall, in order to properly decompress, you must set aside time to do it. Find the time of day that works for you and stick to it. It may also be worthwhile to set yourself a dedicated ‘decompression goal’ every day, such as holding yourself to completing 30 minutes of your decompression activity every day.
You’ll be surprised how much your mindset can change when you begin to dedicate time to decompressing in your schedule ⏤ this energy will only extend to your coursework. You have nothing to lose by taking time to yourself and completing an activity that you love.