Coming up to exams and during assessment periods at university, you can find yourself becoming very busy. To avoid burning yourself out, here is how you can manage busy days effectively.
1. Remember it won’t last forever
Whether you set up a calendar to mark the end of the busy period or remind yourself mentally it is just a phase, remember that you won’t be this busy forever.
2. Take your breaks wisely
If you have only a few minutes between classes, remember to eat or drink something to keep your mind focused and your health optimum. It is easy to feel tired and drained in later classes if you forget to eat something during the day.
If you have longer periods of time between classes, try and take 5 to 10 minutes to relax or talk to friends to keep yourself at a relaxed pace.
3. Be well organised
To avoid unnecessary loss of time, ensure you have all your notes, food, drink and other necessities prepared before you turn up. It helps to schedule out your day as well, to make sure you have enough time to look after yourself.
4. Reschedule less important things
If during the day you discover you don’t have enough time for everything, reschedule the least important things for a less busy day.
For example, if your main classes end up overlapping a small study session in the library, rescheduling that study session can help take the pressure off and give you some breathing space in the day!
However, don’t use this to reschedule eating or little breaks as this can deteriorate your health, if you find yourself constantly avoiding these relaxed periods to study.
5. Silence distracting social media
Where you can, make sure your social media and other distractions are switched off. While small breaks keep a healthy mind, too many interspersed sessions of Facebook or Instagram can cause you to have an ineffective learning session.
6. Caffeine
If you find yourself becoming fatigued easily towards the end of the day, it can sometimes help to have a coffee to pep yourself up for the remainder of the day.
It is not advisable to do this too often or in large quantities however, as too much will often lead to a ‘crash’ later on.
7. Sleep the night before
It is important to get a good amount of sleep the night before your busy day. Why? Because a lack of proper sleep will affect your focus during the day, especially during later classes. It is recommended for an adult to have between 8 and 10 hours of sleep per night, as a guide for your sleep habits.
It is also advised to get to bed and wake up at relatively similar times during the week, as a steady sleep cycle reduces your chances of burning out or getting fatigued at inconvenient times.
