Being Restful and Productive During Reading Week

Congratulations everyone! We have finally made it to Reading Week! These last two weeks have been extremely stressful, and I found myself in an endless cycle of waking up, attending lectures, and then going home and immediately start studying. Last year, I felt extremely burned out when I finally got a break after midterms, so this week, I wanted to write about how I avoid feeling unmotivated during reading week, while still finding time to take a break from schoolwork.  Catch up on classes: During midterms, I tend to focus on one course at a time. Then, when that midterm is over, I put that course aside and focus on the next one. As a result, I find myself falling behind on some classes (especially for the courses that have an early midterm!). Reading week is a great time to go back and catch up readings and other course work. This way, when school starts again, I can be back on track!

To do lists: Despite the relaxing nature of Reading week, I know that I have to allocate time to get work done because I have a lot of things to do. I have assignments, essays, and term tests that are all right after reading week. For me, making a to-do list really motivates me to get everything done. I like to look ahead into the next two months to see what’s coming up. I know that near the end of November, I am going to be super busy because that’s when the exam stress really hits. In order to make my life a little bit easier, I get started on (or sometimes even finish) culminating assignments that are due in the month of November. This way, come exam time, I can completely dedicate all my time to studying instead of staying up late to try and finish the assignment that I got a month and a half ago (it’s happened before). Relaxing: As always, I make sure to leave some time to relax. As a full-time student, it’s rare to get a break from schoolwork, so when I finally do, I take advantage of it! I’ve already planned to go on shopping trips and lunch dates with my mom, and I’m going to be seeing some old high school friends on the weekend. Most importantly, I use this time to really take care of myself. Whether it be going to the gym, or sleeping in, reading week is a great time to settle down and re-connect with the world again. In general, reading week is just a time for me to do things that I love!   I hope everyone continues to have a safe, restful, and productive week. Happy reading week to all!