June 17, 2018, by Lucy
How I’m Going to Make My Summer Productive
Now that university is over until September, it is quite easy for the summer months to pass by rapidly with nothing more being achieved besides the completion of a couple of books and twice the number of boxsets. Unwilling to let this be the case and effectively sleep my summer away, I intend to make the next three months productive both in the sense of immediate and delayed gratification. Wanting to make the most of your summer? Well, here’s how I’m going to try to.
Start My Dissertation
Now that I am approaching my third, and final, year at university, now is the time that I must tackle what my academic life has been leading towards: the long-anticipated dissertation. Being 7000 words long, my dissertation will be the longest piece of extended writing that I will have ever been required to complete, meaning that it is necessary for me to prepare for the task in sufficient time. As they say, a dissertation is best thought as being a marathon as opposed to a short distance race. I’m not saying that come September I will have completed the first draft of my dissertation, oh no. What I am saying, however, is that I hope to have a decent amount of background research in my pocket as well as at least a basic outline of what and how I will go about its completion. As the prescribed number of meetings with supervisors is sparse, having a hold on the course of my dissertation from the get go will allow me to make the most of my supervisor being there.
Internship
In my last post I wrote about applying for an internship through the Nottingham Internship Scheme. Luckily enough, I was able to secure a month-long internship at a local charity in which I will be focusing on website development and funding research. As well as having the ability to earn some extra money, I will be given the opportunity to put my knowledge and skills gained from my academic experience into practice. As a result, for a month I will be staying in Nottingham, working full-time in the charitable sector, something which I would like, at the moment anyway, to be part of my post university life.
Figure Out My Future
Following on from this, as the internship will shed light on my prospective career options, I hope to come out of the internship with a heightened idea as to where I want my future to be heading. Since I am no fortune teller, although I hope to become enlightened following the internship, I am more than aware that this may not be the case. I may absolutely love my role, but I may equally dislike it – both of which will further inform the path of my future. Besides, the internship I will spend my summer researching postgraduate courses, grad jobs and internships as a means of giving my life a sense of direction. *Yelp*.
Relax
Come September the university grind will begin, as the hardest year of my academic experience to date ensues. Despite beginning every year with the intentions to not stress about deadlines or exams, I can guarantee that this will not be the case in the midst of essay writing and revision. I will even going as far as saying that this stress is an inevitable part of my quest for academic success. Just like an athlete before the Olympics must take time to rest their muscles and get their mind in the game, I will be using summer to recharge my batteries and take a break, at least momentarily, from the self-imposed pressures of academic life. Besides, when you’re someone like me who actively avoids the gym, academia is a sport.
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