7 Tips For A Successful Winter Break

Congratulations on making it through another Fall! After working so hard throughout the term, winter break can be a great time to recharge your batteries and prepare for a fresh start in 2016. Still, we all know what it feels like to reach the end of winter break wishing you had done things differently. Maybe you stressed yourself out too much trying to get everything done, and now you are burned out even before classes have started. Or maybe you prioritized relaxing and having fun, but you wish you had been more productive. There is definitely a Goldilocks situation when it comes to productivity during a long vacation, and so the Student Committee teamed up to give you our top tips for making the most out of the winter break!
 

1. Maintain a consistent schedule. “It can be really easy to sleep in and stay out late with no classes, practicum, etc.,” says Tara Ryan, our Student Committee Secretary. So she tries to maintain good sleep hygiene by going to sleep and waking up at her normal time throughout the break. She also stays on top of things by working for about 8 hours during the day. Keeping a regular work and sleep schedule will make it easier for you to plan over break as well as transition back into your other commitments when classes start back up.
2. Find time for things you enjoy. This tip primarily falls in the avoiding burnout category. Whether you are a runner, a book lover, or an artist; whatever it is that makes you happy should definitely have a starring role in your winter break. If you are one of those unicorns that consistently makes time for these things during the academic year then you should make a point of keeping it up over vacation. If these hobbies get pushed to the backburner during the term, dust them off and show them some love this winter.
3. Be reasonable. It can be easy during the school year to find yourself pushing things off until you have more time during the day, but biting off more than you can chew is a surefire recipe for frustration and disappointment come January. Write a list of everything you want to accomplish over break and be honest with yourself about what is most important to you and what you can feasibly get done. Be specific about your plan, and how everything is going to fit into your life. Remember the rest of the world doesn’t stop just because classes are over, and you still need to live your life without feeling overloaded over the next month or two.
4. Break it up. Allot a certain amount of time during the day/week to those tasks that made it onto your reasonable to-do list. After all, as your Experimental Liaison Cait Cavanagh points out, “Devoting 1-2 hours a day to writing/coding/etc. sounds much more manageable than assigning yourself a giant task to finish by the end of break”.
5. Find time for non-academic projects. Maybe it is that closet overflowing with things you no longer need, a new recipe you’ve been meaning to try, or a stack of photos/diplomas/awards that really need to find a home on your wall. Incorporate these projects into your to-do list, and enjoy knowing they won’t be hanging over your head once the next academic term starts up again.
6. Dust off that project that keeps getting side tracked. If you keep meaning to write up an old project or reach out to a colleague about a cool idea you had, now is a good time to get the ball rolling. When you have professors or mentors relying on you to turn things around, or you have things due for class, it can be tempting to push off a passion project that doesn’t have the same time pressures attached. But we all know that these commitments always come back, and even though technically this one is work it is also a chance to do something for you.
7. Don’t forget to relax! It can definitely be a tough balancing act to feel productive without depriving yourself of a break. Remember that you aren’t slacking off or being lazy if you decide to put the work down for a specific period of time. You are actually making sure that when you are working, you are at your most productive.  The trick is to intentionally take some time off instead of accidentally letting your Netflix-binging get away from you.