Top Tips For Living Independently
Going from living with your parents to by yourself can be a difficult transition to make. Here is a handy guide for students on how to live a happy and independent student life.
Be Organised
A diary is a must have. Seriously. Especially if you’re part of one or more societies, it’s so much easier to remember about events and socials if you write them down as soon as you find out about them. I bought the Palgrave student planner (cheeky bit of advertising 😉) and it is great!
Clean
I know a lot of students in other universities who seem to be fine with having a very messy kitchen. At Warwick though they are cleaned twice a week, which means that they can get angry when they’re left in an appalling condition. Another reason to keep it tidy is so that you always know where your utensils are and you don’t have to spend ages looking for them (or borrow other peoples). I find keeping my room tidy makes me feel better too: tidy room = tidy mind.
Cook
For the record, I find mugshot pasta and pot noodles absolutely disgusting. People think students live off these foods but I guarantee that for most people that is not the case. Even if it’s not every night, I highly recommend cooking your own food. This is so much healthier and cheaper than buying ready-made food, eating out, or getting takewaway. Plus, it is good practise for later life in general when you will need to cook for yourself or your family!
Exercise
Walking to and from lectures is not enough exercise to stay healthy. To stay fit you really need to take up a sport or go to the gym. I love dance classes because they keep you fit but they’re also incredibly fun and allow for creativity. Additionally, regular exercise has been proven to benefit your academic work too.
Sleep
I know there’s an assumption that student get no sleep, either from working till very late or partying all night. To some extent this is true. But I aim for an average of 9 hours sleep per night; that may seem a lot but I do need it! Your academic work will really suffer if you are constantly tired. However, one great thing about uni as that you have the freedom to decide when you go to bed and when you wake up, meaning that bedtimes can be flexible depending on your mood and what you’re doing that night. Don’t miss out on a social occasion because you think it’s past your bedtime.
Have Fun!
The most important one! You need to look after yourself, which can only be fully achieved by having fun. Whether this involves going out with friends or going on coffee dates, it is important that you socialise and make friends. If you’re not great at social occasions, push yourself and have new experiences. Stay out a bit longer, drink a bit more; you want to look back on uni as the best years of your life. You don’t want to feel like you didn’t try everything you wanted to.
