MY UNI HACKS!

University is one of those 'no size fits all' situations. For me, I try to ride the relaxed wave, where I take everything in my stride. AKA I'm a crammer at exam period. Don’t get me wrong, entering third year my perspective has slightly changed, but I'm super organized and try not stress myself out. However, everyone copes differently and has their own way of working. After all we are all unique and deal with workloads differently.   

There are lots of small things I do to help myself throughout a semester to try remain calm and stress free.   

One thing I find very useful is having an academic diary. You can buy these from anywhere. I always like to get mine from Paperchase, however they are a little bit on the pricy side, but they are super cute! It’s basically a diary that starts from June/July and goes all the way through to the next summer. I fill everything out in my diary; deadlines, coursework, to do lists, even plans with my friends. And you best believe it's all colour coded! I cannot stress enough how much I rely on these wee guys to get me through a semester. It just keeps me organised, and I know I don’t need to stress about what I have on, because it's all in my diary.  

Back when you could meet your friends before COVID, I always liked to study in groups. There is nothing better than gossiping with your friends and getting work done at the same time. Furthermore, when my friends are doing work, I feel obliged to do work – meaning I actually got stuff done. The university library is another great place to study. Everyone is there for the same reason and there is something really motivating about being there.  

Another thing I find useful, especially right now, is having a tidy place to study and complete tasks. Clear space = clear mind. Having a clear area to work is important to me as it will make sure I stay focused and on target. I find that if my room is messy, I have clutter on my brain and struggle with getting work done. Furthermore, I am such a bad procrastinator, so having a messy room means I will find other things to occupy my time... I think that's important right now since university is all online and not on campus. We are spending the majority of our time in our houses, so to enable myself to get work done, I keep my room tidy-ish. (I don’t think my parents would agree though) 

Just to add you can never have too many notepads, pens, pencils etc. I love to keep my notes colourful and highlighted to make them look all pretty. Additionally, having a working laptop is a must because you will NEVER not need it...  

Before I go, please don’t forget study snacks. A MUST FOR ME! I'm such a foodie/snacky person, so making sure I have an endless amount of food is beyond important to me! PLUS, there is an endless amount of restaurants in town.  So treat yourself to some good food to keep you happy, even takeaways!

Hmmm now I'm hungry... I hope you found this useful and remember not everything will work for you. Keep trying different solutions till you find one that suits you!  

 

All the best 

-Lauren xx