Getting a study-life balance this Easter

At university, it would be easy to work every day for eight months straight and then collapse after your final exam. Doing a degree is a lot of work, but university is about a lot more than a degree. It’s about all the experiences we get whilst not studying too, so we need to make time for them. Working all the time isn’t necessary, and it invites burnout. 

There will generally be a lot of assignments during your studies, and at certain points in the year, there will be exams too. It can be easy to get into a pattern of working too much, and it can be easy to get into a pattern of putting academia before all else. But the good news is that there are ways to get a balance. It just takes some time to figure out. 

I completely sucked at getting a balance last year, but to be fair, we were in lockdown a lot so there wasn’t much to do but study. This year, I’m working on it – and slowly getting better. The Easter holidays can be a source of nervousness, as they are just before exams and often have quite a few assignments due too. I’ve got a few tips that have helped me maintain my study-life balance recently, and I hope they can help you too.

Make time to do absolutely nothing

After ten weeks of term, you will need some time to do nothing. You will need some time to refresh. When you are coming home for the holidays, remember not to pack your schedule full of meeting up with school friends and family – leave some time to do nothing but watch Netflix and catch up on some rest. I’m not great at doing nothing, so I try to think about it as recharging instead. 

Talk to people 

If you are unsure about how your study-life balance should look, there are lots of people you can reach out to. I’ve found it helpful to talk to my personal tutor, lecturers, and other coursemates about the workload this Easter and how we should approach our upcoming assessments. It can be difficult to tell if you are getting the balance right if you haven’t spoken to anyone about it.  

Plan when your breaks will be

I decided that I would take a few days fully and completely out of the Linguistics world at the start of the holidays, and it was a fantastic decision. As much as I love Linguistics, some time not thinking about it helped to refresh and clear my mind. Some time not on my laptop was also a much-needed break. I would highly recommend having a complete switch-off from work for a while – you’ll probably come back with more energy.  

Work on your wellbeing 

Whilst wellbeing should always be a priority, the holidays can be a time to really refocus on it. I’ve been trying to eat healthier, exercise daily, see friends regularly, and get outside as much as possible. I’ve tried to use this Easter to reset, recharge, and form new, healthier habits – so taking on next term (without being burnt out by the end) seems a lot easier. 

Working towards a degree can sound a little daunting sometimes – but it’s completely worth every minute. And as ever, if you have any questions about what it’s like to manage the study-life balance at university, please do drop me a message.