December 16, 2019, by Shweta

Tackling your workload over Christmas break

You just know you’re getting close to Christmas break when Nottingham’s Christmas market is back and lecturers are letting loose a bit. And what a wonderful time of year it is! The food markets are back and busy, the Christmas trees are up and you’ve made it through yet another semester. However, adulthood waits for no one and more often than not, you probably have a workload to do over your break. From essay deadlines to exam revision, your course material will haunt you even when you’re hiding behind copious amounts of hot chocolate back at home. Here are my top tips for managing your workload while still enjoying holiday season to the fullest.

For starters, be organised. Weirdly enough, the more organised you are, the less work you’ll actually be doing on a day-to-day basis. Divvy up the work you have and break down tasks into smaller chunks that you can then tackle every day. This will prevent you from drowning in work for 6 hour straight on one evening and then wasting away the rest of your week only to find yourself drowning in your workload again. A little every day is a lot more efficient than a lot every now and then. Plus, this will help get you into the routine of working every day whilst still letting off some steam; and then you won’t find it so hard to re-adjust to uni life when you’re back.

Secondly, don’t forget to relax. That’s what breaks are for! It’s tempting to procrastinate, especially when using various holidays as an excuse. But doing so will only have you scrambling and stressing out towards the end of your break; and what’s worse than coming back to university feeling unsettled? My personal strategy is to work for at least an hour in the night, once my day has ended. Even though I’m the farthest thing from a night owl, this works for me due to time differences and jet lag when I fly home. If you do this, you’ll know you have the freedom to spend your days brunching/lunching to your hearts content, guilt free! If you do have a late night, then tackle an hour right when you wake up. An hour is a good amount of time to get enough done without wasting away too much of your holiday.

Branching off my previous point, don’t be too harsh on yourself. This is particularly important given the increasing relevance of burn-out and mental ill-health amongst student populations. Christmas break is a time to sleep in, catch up with friends and family and de-stress after a busy semester. It’s also a wonderful time to reflect on how far you’ve come this past year and how much further you can go in the year to come. Don’t forget to use this break for what it’s meant for, relaxation. If you miss out on a day or two of revision, don’t worry. Just catch up later and remind yourself that if you desperately want a break then you probably desperately need it.

Have a very merry Christmas and a wonderful new year and let’s all strive towards a restful yet productive new year (and decade!).

Until next time,

Shweta

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