Making The Most Out Of Your Reading Week
Reading Week is nearly here! A week without lectures or seminars, Reading Week is a chance to take a break, reflect, and relax from the regular routine of university. This will be my fourth Reading Week at Warwick, and so I thought I would share some tips on how to make the most out of the week with the spare time that it can bring, to ensure that you balance both academics and social activities.
- Take a day off studying
During Reading Week, spending one day completely away from academics is something that I decided to do last Reading Week, in Term One. No planning essays, no reading for your course, no scouring LinkedIn for internships or applying for them – this day, whichever day you decide, should be spent relaxing and having fun. For example, last Reading Week, I took a trip to Oxford (which is a short train journey from Coventry or Leamington Spa!), where I spent the day exploring the city, punting and enjoying some good food. Some other ideas for activities are going to the town of Warwick itself, taking a trip to Birmingham, having a self-care day, going to the cinema or having a picnic. Whatever you decide to do, don’t feel guilty about taking time off from studying: it is so important to maintain a balance between social life and study life.
- Plan ahead for assessments
Having down-time is so important during Reading Week, as I established in my previous point. However, in conjunction with resting, Reading Week is also a great time to look ahead into the second half of term, and plan when and what assessments you will need to complete. This year, I have several assessments due around the same time in May, so in my Reading Week, I will organise which order I am going to complete these assessments in, as well as creating a study plan for the second half of the term to clearly outline which assignments I should be working on.
- See family, and friends from home
Because of the lack of seminars and lectures in Reading Week, your schedule may have opened up, allowing you time to organise seeing friends and family from home, or to invite them to university, Coventry or Leamington Spa to spend some time with them.
- Set out some goals for the final half of term
During Reading Week, you can also take the time to reflect on your current progress and enjoyment at university. What things are going well academically? What areas would you like to improve academically? Which modules are you enjoying the most, and the least – and why? How do you think you have managed balancing studying versus social life in the first half of term? These are all examples of questions you could ask yourself and check in, perhaps by writing down how you feel on a notepad or on your phone. By establishing what positives, as well as what improvements, you feel have occurred, you can begin to set some goals for the final half of the term – academic, professional, personal or anything in between. Reading Week is a great midpoint to evaluate how university life is progressing.
- Dedicate some time to reading (both course materials and personal books!)
Whilst it may seem obvious from the name, it is so invaluable to read during Reading Week! Take this extra time to get ahead on some of your reading for the second half of the term, as well as getting stuck into personal reading that you may have. As I have said in a previous blog post, reading both for your course, and your own personal reading, is such an enriching combination, and certainly something I would recommend to anyone, regardless of what degree they are doing.
