making the most out of the winter break; uni student edition 🎄☃️
phew you made it through exams! now you have a couple weeks to yourself, what to do with all that extra time? i know i’ll personally be focusing on slow productivity and reconnecting with myself, my loved ones, and the present.. below are some tips on how i’ll be doing that and i hope it gives you some ideas if your stuck on how to make the most out of this short blissful break
reflect on the semester— i’m lucky that i’ve kept my journal entries from the beginning of the year, so i’m taking a moment to look back and celebrate my wins but also see what mistakes i could learn for the next semester. i prefer to do my introspection through the journal & pencil, but anything works. some questions i’ll be considering:
what were some initial goals for the semester? how do they compare to the outcome?
what study sessions did you find the most effective? is it a certain location, time frame, or method?
did you learn anything really interesting from your courses?
did your schedule provide the time and energy to take care of your mental & physical health? if not, what would you change to make that happen?
setting winter break goals— having 2 or 3 goals to work towards can help keep you productive. i usually allocate 2 hours to work on these per day. personally, i’ve been focusing on rebuilding habits. with habits, i believe the biggest challenge is today.. just simply being able to show up today. below are some ideas of some goals or habits to work towards:
daily journaling or meditation
getting ahead with year-round courses
stay connected with loved ones— go ahead and message your friends for a meet up. it can be inviting them to your home, a local cafe lunch, visiting a muesum, or window shopping. also i am also doing my best to help my family and spend quality time with them.
reconnect with mindfulness— i’ve been practicing mindfulness to heal some of the anxious tendencies from exam season and return back to a peaceful state of mind. some activities i love to do:
reading: associated with focusing processes in the brain
free-flow yoga: without any tutorials and just listening to your body
to learn more about the stress-reducing effects of yoga and reading: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229431397_Stress_Management_Strategies_For_Students_The_Immediate_Effects_Of_Yoga_Humor_And_Reading_On_Stress
meditation: any duration of meditation is extremely effective for handling health-deteriorating effects of stress
a study on long-term 20-minute meditation practitioners found that the brain decreases oxygen usage, lowers bp, and lowers heart rate (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15564357/)
rekindle your love for your field— podcasts, books, movies. all might bring some childlike wonder when approaching the boring process of memorizing hard facts. i’m a biology student, and if you are too, you might enjoy some of these recommendations:
a natural history of the senses by Diane Ackerman
the light eaters: how the unseen world of plant intelligence offers a new understanding of life on earth by Zoë Schlanger
ologies podcast by alie ward (on spotify)
titsay
baratheonpilled
romaincrisis
izzy806
kianamaiart
theartofmadeline
