Breaking Up the Grind

We all know the feeling midday through the semester where it can be hard to tell one day from the next. Classwork starts piling up and the next thing you know, it’s Sunday again and you’re ready to start the new week. This semester, I have attempted to make small changes every day so that my days feel differentiated, for lack of a better word. Here are some tips for changing up your daily routine: 

1. Choosing a different study spot than usual is something I have found to be very useful in eliminating the feeling of living the same day over and over again. This semester, I have made it a goal to venture out from my usual study spot in the library. With our student IDs, we have access to almost every building on Temple’s campus and almost all the floors and rooms of those buildings. I have found cozy study spots throughout campus just by wandering through the halls of buildings where I don’t have classes. I have found it easier to focus and become immersed in the work I am doing whenever I am not in the same place every time.  

2. Pick a new place to grab lunch or a coffee. It is easy to slip into the routine of grabbing a meal from your favorite lunch spot every day, but there are ample options all around and off campus to try. Last semester, I would eat the same bagel from Richie’s Cafe most days on my break between classes, which made my study times quickly blend together. This semester, I tried changing what I eat on my break in between my classes. Exploring all the food spots on campus is a great way to incorporate something new into your day of classes. You might even find a new favorite! For coffee drinkers, there are plenty of places around campus from the small huts with a simple menu to the La Colombe-sourced cafe inside of the Charles library. 

3. Making time to get off campus is an easy way to split up your day. I have implemented a new routine of making myself take the subway into a different neighborhood to do small errands that I could do around campus. With Philadelphia’s transit system, you can ride the subway up or down a few stops, do an errand, explore a bit, and be back on campus within an hour. I find that this helps me to create some variation in my day-to-day routine because even though I could get what I needed only a 5-minute walk from my apartment, I am venturing out and trying a new grocery store or shop.  

4. Although it is tough, I feel like keeping yourself out of the house until the end of the day is a way I have found to help me change things up. Downtime is important, but I find it easy to slip into repetitive nights of exhausting yourself during the day and then not finding time to do anything else. Sometimes, I will empty out my backpack of unnecessary things and then pack whatever I need for my after-class plans. This eliminates the slump that often comes between your last class and the plans you made for yourself the day before. I feel more motivated when I go straight from class to other plans.  

With these tips and keeping in mind your personal mental and physical health, making the transition from living repetitive days to fuller, fulfilling days may become manageable. It is difficult to break out of the routine once you are in it, but the feeling once you reach it is rewarding. I have found that doing the things that I used to dread, like homework or other outside work, has become more enjoyable through me making choices to change things up throughout the day. 

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