Back to College Post-Holiday Effect

So, the summer holidays are over and once again students have to plunge into classes, lectures, homework, essay writing and other lovely things. For some it is akin to coming home, for others†¦ not so much. If you are one of these ‘others’, read our tips – hopefully they will help you re-accommodate yourself to learning process without too much trouble. 1. Give Yourself a Jolt When you get back to college after a long break you have to, willy-nilly, change the whole set of habits and routines you’ve formed during that break. So be radical about it and change some habits you don’t have any immediate need of changing. For example, if you have to get up at 7 to get to your classes in time, go an extra mile and start getting up at 6 (while going to sleep earlier, of course). This will give your brain and your organism in general a jolt, send them a signal: â€Å"Something new has begun, no more lying in bed till 10†. It is much easier to build a completely new set of habits than to try and include new habits into an old system. And nothing is better for breaking up old routines than moving the time you get up a couple of hours earlier. 2. Start Your Day Well-Rested, Well-Fed, Well-Exercised It couples nicely with the first tip – if you get up early you will have enough time to make some morning exercises or go for a jog and eat a proper breakfast. Your first meal of the day is also the most important one – it provides you with energy during the crucial early hours, and you go about it right you will be able to make this period much less stressful. As for exercise, 10-20 minutes spent on it will come back to you a hundredfold – you will be less sleepy later on, as well as more effective and attentive during your classes. 3. Make Plans and Follow Them Your getting back to work will be much less painful if you do it on your own terms. Define what exactly and how much you are going to do every day and every week, and do your best to complete this set of tasks. Plan realistically, so that you won’t be overwhelmed by the amount of work you have to do. You’ll have a lot of tasks that require continuous work, sometimes for weeks and months. Don’t put them off till the last moment – spread them thin over your academic year and you will be able to deal with each assignment without stressing out. 4. Divide and Conquer Some tasks will look insurmountable, you will be unable to see how to handle them and where to start. Break them up into smaller, more manageable parts, into steps you can do at one sitting – and pick them off one by one. Going back to college after holidays is always hard; there’s nothing wrong if you feel that way. But it’s wise to follow these simple hints – they’ll help you re-accommodate to studies much, much easier.