Written by Kate Armstrong
Coming straight from high school to university, there was one thing I discovered very quickly. That is both school and university are equally difficult! Prioritising my time and making the most of it is critical. however, unwinding after a big day of classes and uni work is just as important.
I’ve listed my four main steps to unwinding successfully, while also setting myself up for a great tomorrow!
Do something completely different from studying
This completely changes your mindset! I find that after I’ve been knee deep in uni work all day and my brain is ready to explode from all the information, changing my focus completely makes a huge difference! This doesn’t have to be something big, or take up heaps of your time, just something that takes your mind off everything you’ve done all day.
This could be anything from going to the local markets, taking a dance class, baking some cookies, catching up with a friend for coffee (or even watching an episode of Netflix).
I find that I am then refreshed and in a new mindset ready to be productive with my evening!
Fresh air
Another MASSIVE tip is getting outside and getting fresh air into your lungs. This may be involved in step one as well, but you can never get too much! The benefits of being outside and getting some fresh air are endless, it has been shown to help digest food effectively, improve blood pressure and heart rate, strengthen the immune system, and reduce obesity rates!
Personally, I love going for a walk and listening to music or a podcast, but sometimes just sitting outside in the sun with a hot drink sounds much more appealing! Either way, it gives me a boost of energy that keeps me going for the afternoon.
Eat that frog!
This step is inspired by the book Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy. Eating your frog is all about starting your work by doing your most challenging task. Brian Tracy outlines a five-step process, repeated daily for 21 days, to make ‘eating your frog’ a habit.
There are three main rules:
- Your ‘frog’ is your biggest, most important task
- If you have two frogs, eat the ‘ugliest’ one first
- If you must eat a frog, don’t procrastinate on it.
This is a fantastic way to help prevent procrastination, although it is definitely easier said than done!
However, once your hardest task is completed, the feeling of success is unlike anything else and doing the remainder of your tasks for the day feels so much easier.
Be prepared for tomorrow
Clean your space, clean your space, clean your space! I can’t reiterate it enough how much difference having a clean space makes. Put those dishes away that have been sitting on the sink all week, vacuum your bedroom floor, take out the garbage!
I also like to pack my lunch for the next day and plan out the main tasks that I want to tackle. Writing it down as a list on paper does wonders for me, so I’d suggest that everyone tries it, ticking off the tasks as they are accomplished is the biggest reward!
Finally, I look at my calendar and double check what’s on for the next day, and then get some sleep so that tomorrow can be AMAZING!
