After some, uhm I’ll call them non-academically challenging Winter Term classes (I’m NOT talking about all the Seniors who took comps!), some of us are having trouble adjusting to the new semester. Here are some tips that will help you get back in the swing of things.
1. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep a night, every night.
The first set to conquoring your semester should be establishing a healthy sleep cycle. That means try to avoid “sleep debt”, staying up late during the week and catching up on missed sleep on the weekends. The National Sleep Foundation reccomends that young adults ages 18-25 get 7-9 hours of sleep a night. They note that 6-10 hours of sleep a night may be suitable for some young adults. Try getting different amounts of sleep and see what feels best for your body.
2. Stay organized
Don’t fall behind during the second week of classes instead, get organized. As soon as you get your syllabi, mark important dates and assignments in a planner, on your phone, or in Google Calender. Staying organized is a great way to make sure that you succeede academicaly and can prevent the “sleep debt” cycle from starting up.
3. Take short breaks
When you come back from a long break it’s often difficult to focus for more than an hour so, reading a 500-page novel and writing a 5 page essay seems impossible. Instead of trying to study for hours at a time, break up your study sessions. Do 30 minutes of homework then give yourself a 3-minute break to stretch or get some water. Taking a short break every 30-45 minutes is much more productive than staring at the same page for an hour.
Good luck with spring semester collegiettes. Study hard but don’t forget to have fun!