Spring term 2022 is fast approaching and hopefully we’ve all enjoyed a well-deserved break. Emily Perridge, now in her last year shares how she is preparing for the new term.
‘I’m now in the last year of my undergraduate degree and have learnt a lot through my experiences at university. In this blog I’ll share how I’m getting ready for the new term, and share some advice.
Get Organised and Be Prepared
The teaching of our Autumn term modules is over, and we’re about to start attending lectures and seminars for new modules. I’ve started by organising my bookshelf and desk to ensure I have a tidy working area. As well as this, I organised my laptop’s desktop. I put the folders and files for the Autumn term into one folder, and created new folders for my Spring modules. I downloaded the module outlines to see when my deadlines are so I could write down the deadlines and dates for seminar work, problem sets, essays and tests. Before last term I hadn’t noted the deadline dates for seminar work or problem sets, but doing so has helped me stay organised and visualise the best way to allocate my study time. In the past, 2 weeks into the start of term I’ve felt as though I’m already behind on work. Last term I coped better because seeing my frequent deadlines motivated me to be more strict with my time. Looking at my deadlines over the upcoming term, I see I have no submissions for the first 2 weeks of term. The first two weeks will be a great time to get ahead by looking at lectures and doing prescribed readings.
‘With each passing day this term it will get easier to get out of bed because the sun will rise a little earlier every day.’
Routines Become Rituals
Routine is important to make sure we’re feeling our best to help us to do our best. I like to make sure I’m ready to start my day at 9am everyday. This term I have a 9am Monday lecture and am seeing it as a great opportunity to start my week off well. With each passing day this term it will get easier to get out of bed because the sun will rise a little earlier every day. My self-discipline isn’t so good when it comes to a sleep routine, so last term I asked a friend for help. To make me accountable to someone other than myself, we committed to video-calling every Monday morning at 9am. This made sure that if we messed up our sleep schedules over the weekend, or were feeling lazy, our routines wouldn’t be thrown off. This became a bit of a ritual and I’ll miss our Monday morning calls.
Join New Societies
The start of the Spring term is a great opportunity to join new societies, many of which will be running free taster sessions. You can find out about societies at Kent Union’s “The Big Fair”, which will be on Thursday 27th January both in the Sports Centre and online. Out of the many societies I’ve tried, my top picks for societies that combine exercise and socialising are Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Society and Salsa Society. The formats of both societies involve practising in pairs, so they’re a great way to meet new people. When I joined these societies I was a complete beginner, but others were patient with me and willing to explain things more than once. Twice a week Salsa Society runs free classes for complete beginners, so you have nothing to lose. If you’re looking for some down time, I’d recommend Therapeutic Arts Society. Lots of resources are provided including colouring sheets, origami and paints. This society is a zero-pressure zone – you don’t even have to turn up “on time”!
I hope that you can take something away from my own experiences and benefit from them to help you make the most of your university experience. Enjoy the Spring term!’