I’m the first person to say, summer holidays are for relaxing, and unless you go into teaching, you’re long summers are limited to your youthful years. So they are for fun, but you often find people regret not being productive in the summer months, so here is a list of some things you can do, as a student, to stay productive, without stressing yourself out! It’s all about balance!
Manage your key dates
When you break up for the summer holidays, it may feel like the next academic year is so long away, and the looming feeling of deadlines are a thing of the past, but they’re not. I’d recommend getting your key dates noted down. This will help you understand how long you have to complete tasks, which could dictate how you’ll spend your summer. Awareness is key for productivity.
Keep a diary
Keeping a diary can be great for so many reasons. On a day-to-day basis, keeping a diary will encourage you to do something productive in the day, as otherwise, you wouldn’t have anything to write about! Not only this, but it will keep you writing and improving your metacognition. In the long term, you’ll be able to reflect on how you spent your summer and establish your drawbacks as well as reflect on the minor successes that may have slipped from your memory.
Do some reading
I know it’s tempting to believe you’ve got ages to do your summer projects, but we all know how quickly the holidays fly by. So, I’d recommend doing any summer homework/projects early on, when you’re still in the swing of working. If you don’t have summer projects, then I’d recommend reading throughout the summer. Whether you’ve got your dissertation next year, or just want to find a way to keep learning (but in a stress-free way), don’t underestimate the effects of reading a few pages before you go to bed. Maybe you could ask your professors what books they recommend, or read books on mindset. These things will all help and play their part!
Make a mood board
Now, this may not sound productive for some, but for many, this will work a treat. Making a mood board could be based on anything, from your post-graduate goals to a dissertation theme. Getting yourself engaged in these topics early on will enable you to make big tasks feel slightly smaller. Also, making mood boards is a form of visualisation. By doing this, you manifest, so if you want to get your dream job, this mood board should display how you’ll need to go about it for example.
Get some experience
The summer holidays for most will mean at least three months of pure freedom. Using this time to be productive is so important, but productivity looks different to everyone. As many will be lost with what to do with this time, I’d recommend getting some experience working in your field, volunteering or travelling. How you spend your summers will speak volumes to employers?
