5 Tips to Stay Productive During Holidays and Breaks

Every student looks forward to taking it easy during the holiday break. After a fast-paced and challenging semester, it is always nice to have some time off to relax, spend time with family and friends, and not worry about the next test or assignment due. However, while school breaks don’t need to be work-intensive, you should still try to accomplish some things while you are away from your studies. After all, as soon as the break is over, you’ll be heading back to school, and you definitely want to be ready for that. Here are 5 great tips to help you stay productive during holidays and breaks.

Have a Holiday Break Plan

While it is nice to get away from the rigors of an academic schedule, you should still make a plan for how you’ll spend your break; otherwise, the time will pass quickly, and you’ll have missed opportunities. Prior to starting your break, look at a calendar and plot out how you’ll use the time. While you’ll want to have blank space on your schedule to simply rest and relax, you should also make sure that you allocate time to get together with friends and family; if you need to do any studying over the holiday, you should mark that on your calendar as well. Overall, having a holiday break plan will help you stay productive and get the most out of your holiday break time as well.

Stick to a Schedule

Don’t pick up any bad time management or sleep schedule habits while you’re away on your holiday break. If you party late into the night and sleep into the early afternoon every single day during your break, you’re going to be in for a big shock when you return to school.  Instead, stick to a more moderate schedule over the holiday where you might stay up a bit later, but still, get up at a reasonable time each morning. You should also try to eat your meals at normal times as well. Following a reasonable schedule during the break will allow you to have fun over the holidays, but still make it relatively easy to snap back into your school schedule when the break ends. Of course, if you face troubles when going back to classes after a long break, you can always get help from a professional team.

Make a Task List

One of the best ways to stay productive during holidays and breaks is to plan to accomplish things with the extra time you have.  Make a list of the things you need to get done, or that you would like to do over the holiday break. Your tasks could include mundane things, such as mailing a tuition payment or getting the oil changed in your car. It could also include fun events you’d like to do, such as go to a museum, or personal challenges to accomplish, like a 10K road race. Keep your written task list with you and mark off each task as it is accomplished. Doing so will help you stay more productive during your break, so you make the most of your time off.

Don’t Let Your Brain Rust

While you want to enjoy some much-needed time off during your break, you should also try to keep your mind sharp. Otherwise, you’ll be in for a bit of a shock when your classes start up again.  Here are a few activities you should consider to keep your mental edge over the holiday break:

• Watch documentaries and educational shows
• Read articles, books, or scholarly journals related to your course of study
• Attempt to learn a new skill
• Visit local museums, art galleries, or go see a play
• Maintain your writing skills – keep a journal, try various writing exercises or write real letters to friends or family
• Take a short online course in a topic that interests you
• Solve the daily newspaper crossword puzzle
• Pick up a hobby, such as knitting, gardening, jigsaw puzzles,

While this is by no means an all-inclusive list, any of these activities are fun to do and could help you keep your mind sharp during the holiday break. Consider trying one of them, or some other activity, so your mind stays active and engaged while you’re away from your studies; you’ll be thankful you did when your classes start up again. Also, check out some useful tips on how you can improve your writing skills.

Stay in Shape

Don’t turn into a couch potato over your holiday break, or you’ll be in for a rude awakening when you head back to school. If you’re an athlete, failing to work out and stay in shape over break could cost you a starting position on a team. Even if you don’t participate in sports, you don’t want to be out of shape and tired as you start the new semester. Take the time to exercise on a regular basis while you are home on break. Additionally, try not to overindulge at big family or holiday meals either. Putting a little effort in to work out and stay in shape will help you feel better and enjoy your holiday break even more; you’ll also be more prepared to head back to school and tackle your classes when the break comes to an end.

You can have fun, relax and enjoy your holiday break, and still remain productive. Just consider all of the tips offered here; if you do, you’ll have a terrific holiday break and be better prepared to start your next semester as well.