Hi everyone! I cannot believe winter break is over. It passed in the blink of an eye, and now we are back in beloved (and freezing) Kingston. My skin is cracked and drying, and my vacation blues are at an all-time high.
Over the holiday season I did not think about school at all. Instead, I went ice fishing, cross-country skiing, hiking, and participated in so many other winter activities! I feel like I made the most of the winter break and detached from academics and am now ready to get back into the school mindset.
Let’s quickly reflect on our previous semester and exam season as we enter the new term. What worked for you and what didn’t? What will you continue doing, what will you stop doing, and what will you try next? These are questions we should consider to keep growing as individuals and as students; quickly jotting down what we think will help us move forward.
What worked
- Sleeping: Your body and brain need a healthy amount of sleep to function well and, if you don’t get enough, you will feel fatigued, lethargic, and get a big dose of brain fog. There were a few strings of days last semester where I needed to stay up to study, but those were necessary evils. Otherwise, I urge you to sleep well whether you have an upcoming deliverable or not.
- Breaking assignments into chunks and switching between different assignments: The most difficult thing about any task is getting started. When you have more than two pending assignments, I recommend completing one or two easy chunks of each, rather than entirely finishing one assignment before moving on to the next. This helps because: a) you read all the assignments and understand the expectations of each (thus, you know what the next steps are for completion, like referring to class notes, asking the TA for help, etc.), b) each time you finish a chunk you’ll get a dopamine boost, and c) baby-stepping each assignment makes every subsequent step less and less daunting. If you are working on only one assignment, the pressure of the other pending assessments feels greater as the days go on. We want to reduce that.
Old tests and practice exams: If there was only one thing I could suggest for STEM students to do, it would be to leverage old tests and practice exams. Practicing using old test material was highly beneficial for my exams, and I talk about it more in depth here.
What didn’t work
Skimming too quickly: I continue to fall victim to reading too quickly and not digesting the content—sometimes when learning, and sometimes when reading an exam question. Skimming for the sake of pretending to study is a waste of time, and I advise either taking a break and coming back to concentrate 100%, or just taking the time to digest everything. Once you feel like you’ve understood the content, ask yourself if you could explain the concepts to a peer. If you can, great! If not, try to find other methods of learning that work for you.
Too high intensity: Given that in September I had taken 16-months off from school, I was extremely gung-ho when I came back to class. I wanted to get ahead on my assignments and tackle everything as soon as possible. Since I was in 6 engineering/math courses, this took a toll on me, and I battled burnout and fatigue. Luckily, I only have 4 classes this semester; however, if I were to take 6 classes again, I would tell myself to slow down and take meaningful breaks.
What to try
As stated previously, I only have 4 classes this semester! This is all very exciting, but I’m a bit worried about productivity. I feel that since I have fewer classes and a smaller workload than normal, my brain will find it difficult to go into study mode. Thus, I find that it’s more important than ever to create an intentional to-do list and schedule to prevent procrastination. Previously, when I had several difficult classes, there was always something to do, so I had no trouble spending my time studying. Now, with fewer classes, I must be diligent: putting my phone away, maybe installing a distraction-free ad-blocker, and using time-blocking.
However, because I have fewer classes, I also want to attend to things that are more health and lifestyle focused. I’ve been told by a mentor that building habits early on when you’re younger and more energetic is easier than when you’re older. So, I have habit goals that cover expenses tracking, meal prepping, working out, and daily reflections.
The most important lesson is that what works for me might not work for you. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, their own agenda and their own preferences. University is all about learning who you are and how you can excel. So, try everything out! The second most important lesson is that change doesn’t happen overnight, and change doesn’t have to be perfect. All you need is a step in the right direction, and consistency will follow.
All the best in 2025!
Liyi