Student Team Tips: Finding time for yourself
Sometimes, life can get overwhelmed by work, academic studies, daily necessities and so-on. As examinations are approaching, you might find that it is harder to keep some time for yourself when you are dealing with the revision. Fret not! The Student Team is here for you, and here are some tips that they have found immensely helpful to find time for yourself.
Ways to find time for yourself
Here are some ways to make some space and time throughout the day just for you and yourself, no other things invovled:
“I try to prioritise doing my work and revision early in the day and unwinding and relaxing later in the day. It can be hard, because your brain wants to do things it enjoys over revision or work. But if you start doing something you enjoy before the less fun stuff that you need to do, it’s even harder to make a start .” George
“ It’s about planning my days and tasks appropriately, and sticking to my plan and minimise procrastination. I am most productive in the early hours of the day and normally study for about 3–4 hours. For additional time i have, I use the time between my morning and evening study sessions to relax, catch up with friends and family, or do anything else outside academics. I use a similar approach when preparing for exams but with slight modifications to, for example, incorporate group discussions.” Fiona
“To find some free time for myself, I really crack down on scheduling . Sometimes it’s about the studying technique, to allow break time to actually happen. The pomodoro technique is useful for this, and usually I set up a timer to take a ten minute break without losing my focus.” Salma
“I try to plan out my day based on my revision calendar and ensure that there are places where I have set myself some free time in between study sessions. When things don’t go to plan, I make sure that I prioritise rescheduling the revision periods (say to the next day for example) over the free-time periods, otherwise it becomes quite easy to give yourself very little relaxation breaks and end up stressed out.” Kane
“If you are like me, you might find relaxing difficult. We can all get workaholic sometimes and perhaps feel guilty for taking time off. It is difficult to find free time because work never ends . That is the first step in finding free time: knowing that work will never end, so you will have to create and cultivate it yourself. I started scheduling everything and paying attention to how much time something actually takes. Schedule your procrastination .This means pencilling in those small breaks when needed.” Sara
How relaxing helped if it’s more beneficial than just studying all-day long
Here are some personal experiences from out Student Team on how relaxation has helped them:
“I think finding some time out for myself definitely helped me keep rejuvenated and allowed me to come back to a task that I had been keeping out for later.” Naman
“I have found as a result my sleep is so much better; I am more organised, focused and efficient during the day. This has also helped me to gain a much better perspective of my studies overall and feel really proud of my achievements (even if I missed one or two marks off a first in an assignment)! I also find that it means I really enjoy my evenings and weekends more rather than purely worrying about my studies and various tasks around this.” Rachel
“ The scientific consensus on this is pretty clear; studies have found that revising non-stop does not necessarily lead to improved performance (in fact, it can have the opposite effect and make you less effective at recalling information ). Going for fresh air during regular walking breaks from work helped me give myself a breather (or not think about anything at all!) and, in a way, hit the ‘reset’ button, so I could come back refreshed and ready. Relaxing helps you to stay mentally grounded and objective about the whole situation.” Olivia
“I like to have different types of relaxation time. I categorise the times based on what is important to me: sport, creative, skills-based. During sport time, I enjoy going jogging. During my ‘creative’ scheduled time, I block out around 3–5 hours a day once a week in order to have uninterrupted time to think and do more creative writing pieces. This aides my day-to-day life -in the busy world of today, there is little time spent thinking when thinking is one of the most important tasks. It is easy to get carried away with ‘must do this’, ‘then do that’ (etc.) when most of what studying is is conceptual, understanding and application and it is vital to dedicate time to that.” Sara
Activities ST do to take their mind off pressure and stress
“I’m an extrovert, so for me, unwinding usually means spending time with others. That’s had to be done virtually for a while, but as restrictions are lifted, I’ve been able to meet up with friends again. If you need inspiration for an outdoor, socially distanced and casual activity, check out Manchester Disc Golf.” George
“I find it hard to engage in relaxing activities if I haven’t figured out how to progress with whatever piece of work I am stressed over. Therefore, my first step towards getting my mind off stress is to reach out to my study buddies for advice or just to talk if they can’t advise specifically. I also listen to music or watch some of my favourite TV programmes.” Fiona
“As someone who has always loved music, I love singing, playing my guitar and songwriting which I find really brings me into the present moment. This is such a release for me as I can really express myself creatively and let myself enjoy the flowstate. Yoga and meditation first thing each morning gives me permission to feel whatever emotion and challenges I am currently facing and also makes me more of an ‘observer’ of my emotions throughout the day. I always make sure I get up and go out for walks as I really enjoy taking the time to be outside (whatever the weather). Similarly, I have my nose in about two or three books so switching between those is something I like to do to learn new things. And of course, now things are opening a bit more, I’ll happily go out for a coffee or pint where possible!” Rachel
Personal experience of getting out of stressful situations
“One of the biggest things I tend to notice about myself is I get a sensation of an ‘inflamed brain’ when I am stressed. This is a feeling I get when I am trying to force myself to do too much or push myself too hard with something. One thing that helps me to get out of this state is remember that no matter how much work I have done, to stand up and leave the computer or workstation and remind myself that I won’t be able to study again until I have taken a good long break. Similarly, I find actually taking myself out for a walk or doing something like cleaning or cooking really helps me to allow a state of flow for my ideas to flourish, meaning I am not chained to my screen when working — my phone is full of ideas and notes as a result!” Rachel
“Talking with friends and family helps. Whilst preparing for that exam, (it was the toughest exam I have done) I often get worried about retention because I would forget something for every new one I read. My dad once told me after I shared this concern with him that I was trying to retrieve information on different courses at once and that would be impossible and complicated. He said that since I would be writing just one exam at a time, it would be easier for me to retrieve information about the course I needed, when I needed it. I have also been motivated by support from friends and colleagues.” Fatimah
We hope that the tips and experience shared by the student team would be helpful when you are in similar situations!
