How to Manage your Week Efficiently

One of the biggest takeaways from moving away from home is you having to build your own routine, habits and schedule. And as you become accustomed to the hustle and bustle of university life, you will realise that time is indeed precious. People often talk of the difficulties of balancing academia with your social life and any extra-curricular commitments you may have. However, Freshers often forget about the other tasks (which may seem insignificant at first) that accompany adulting and moving way – such as laundry, cooking and maintaining a self-care routine for yourself. If not managed properly throughout the week, you’ll find that these ‘adulting’ tasks can add a significant strain to your student life. For example, because you did not properly plan when to do laundry, you’re more than likely to find yourself frantically searching for clothes to wear one morning while the clock is ticking for your seminar.

I am definitely speaking from experience. During the first half of Term 1, I often found myself overwhelmed and stressed from neglecting my household duties. Until one day, I decided enough was enough from being an absolute wreck who found herself repeatedly wearing the same sweatshirt and cooking instant noodles because she didn’t make a Tesco trip.

Here a few tips I gathered to ensure that I manage my week efficiently to meet with my academic work, social life and other tasks.

1. Have a dedicated day for your responsibilities

I found that having a particular day of the week dedicated to doing all my ‘adulting’ responsibilities has really helped rather than attempt to do them at different times throughout the week. Personally, doing everything on the Sunday work for me. Sunday was my day of choice as I believe it sets me up to start the week on the following Monday on the right note!

On Sundays, I tend to make my big Tesco trip – I often do one big weekly food shop which usually lasts me until the next week. I ensure to buy sufficient food and ingredients for the week. When I need to (this is commonly every fortnight), I also do my laundry on Sundays. And most importantly, I make Sunday my rest day from uni work! Apart from doing all the essential shopping, laundry and hoover around my accommodation room, I ensure that my mind is free from thinking about any lectures or assignments. Instead, I make sure to properly rest my mind. Whether this may be through watching my favourite Netflix show or playing a board game with my flatmates, I use it as a day for self-care. Which includes an early night so I can begin the week refreshed!

2. Cook your meals in bulk

If there was one tip I would like for you to take away from reading this today is that cooking in bulk saves an ENORMOUS amount of time! You will soon realise that cooking meals every day is extremely time-consuming. And once you do recognise how much time you are being robbed of by cooking, it is easy to fall into the trap of regular takeaways. Needless to say, this is unhealthy for both you and your wallet! I would heavily recommend to prepare a meal plan for the start of each week. I typically cook two to three meals for the week that are just as tasty when reheated. Again, I normally do this on a Sunday.

Some bulk meal recommendations are:

• A curry (meat or vegetarian, to your preference). There are plenty of different curry sauce jars available in supermarkets to make the process even easier. I usually cook a considerable portion of the curry and then cook the rice on the days of the following week that I decide to eat it.
• Egg fried rice. This absolute classic is simple to cook and can be made to your liking – as many or as little vegetables as you like! It’s a common favourite among students. It also does not require any extra work throughout the week, the rice itself is already your meal!
• Roasted vegetables with salmon/tofu. One of my absolute favourite meals. I usually chuck aubergines, peppers and courgettes on a baking tray along with salmon (though you can swap this for tofu and it is just as good!) drizzled with olive oil. Less than an hour in the oven and you have a yummy meal that hardly took much effort. When I do reheat the veggies, I usually cook some cous-cous to accompany.

3. Choose your social nights and your stay-in nights for the week

One piece of advice I got prior to attending university was to carefully select my social nights and nights I would stay in to catch some early shuteye. It would be an understatement to say that this has been incredibly utile so far. Before beginning each week (yes, every Sunday as you have probably guessed), I look at my diary and choose which days I will allow myself to stay up late nattering away with my flatmates and the days which I am in bed by 11pm. For example, I may tell myself I can have 4 social nights and 3 quiet nights. 3 social nights and 4 quiet nights may be better for other weeks, however. Of course, this is all dependent on you and your lifestyle. This allows me to have a fruitful social life while also ensuring I stray away from sleep deprivation and insanity!