A day in my life as a final-year student

We are about to enter Week 9 of term, which means two things:

1. The second-term of the academic year is coming to an end 😮‍💨.
2. This will be my last taught-term before I graduate; meaning that I will have no more lectures from Week 10 onwards. All that will be left for me to do is complete my exams, and submit my dissertation (ahh!!🤯).

Therefore, it seems fitting that I share my current weekend routine, as a final year student – before it changes entirely.

Before I introduce my vlog to you I want to share some tips on how I have formed a routine for myself this term. I have recognised that the university experience can be broken-down into several segments/domains. For example, some domains of university include:

• Academics 📚
• Social life 👯
• Hobbies 🎨
• Sport 🏓
• Faith ⛪️
• Food shopping 🍎

Whilst these domains are not always neat categories, the more distinct that they are form each other, the easier it can be to balance. So how do I find the balance between all of these different domains?

Tip 1: Allocate days for food shop 🛒

Everyone has a preference for when they choose to food shop. During my first year at university, I shopped on the weekends because doing it in the week was exhausting. In my second year at university, I also shopped on the weekends, because I was home all week (doing virtual lectures and seminars). Now, in my final year I food shop on weekdays when I am on campus for in-person seminars. Why is this distinction helpful? Because, it is allows me to value the food that I do have by making use of it, and it ensures that I don’t waste time in the week buying food sporadically. Of course, everyone is different, so at the end of the day – do what works for you!

Tip 2: Allocate days for meal prepping and chores 🧑🏼‍🍳

I am still figuring out the best days for me to meal prep. However, it typically happens towards the end of the week when my workload is lighter. For some people, cooking is enjoyable (I am not one of these people haha), and for others, we cook…to survive (that would be moi!🤪) but I think that we can all agree that eating a prepped, home-cooked meal is unbeatable. Why? Because it almost works the same as fast food without the pain of seeing unnecessary withdrawals from your bank account!

Tip 3: Allocate days for hobbies/social events/sport/fun!🥳

Like I said, university is about balance – and this includes balancing the our extracurricular activities, alongside our academic commitments. I am a huge advocate for doing things outside of academics because we are so much more than our grades, or our essays. We are humans, and some of us like to knit, or watch Anime, or play table tennis – so time should be dedicated to these things. I do a social/faith-related activity two evenings a week, and I am always keen to spend weekends doing something enjoyable. It’s so important for our wellbeing that we invest in our holistic selves, not just our academic selves.

Tip 4: Allocate days/times for REST😴.

I need to take my own advice, because I am typing this at 10:21pm and I haven’t had a moment to pause today without thinking about how much work I have had to complete. Mental rest is just as important as physical rest – because we can be physically still whilst exhausting ourselves mentally. So whether you like to journal or go to the gym, or take naps – do allocate time for pure rest.

As you will see in my vlog, a typical Saturday (when I have no social activities on) involves allocating time to do my chores, meal prep, work and rest. This is not the perfect model of day as a university student, but it has worked for me! I hope that in whatever way that works for you, you will also find a routine that allows you to balance it all. And if you have fallen out of balance, that is ok too – it’s not too late to ask for help or try again.

Enjoy the vlog!🎥