Lessons for a New Year

It’s the New Year, and life as a student is as busy as ever – time is flying fast. Towards the end of last term not only were there more deadlines looming but if you are involved with as many societies as I am you’ll find your social calendar jam packed too. Be warned – it’s not easy to manage your time properly. There were so many Christmas parties! It’s a great deal of fun until you realise the night before a deadline that you are unprepared for it! It’s all too easy to give into temptation and eat, drink and be merry, even though you know you ought to be working.

In hindsight I learnt a lot from my first term. Regarding time management, I think the trick is to get up early and put in a good amount of work during the day, then you can reward yourself with a well-deserved party. Or, even better, do the bulk of your work before the parties start happening. Christmas is much more enjoyable without the guilt of unfinished work hanging over you.

I learnt a lot of other things over the course of my first term. The standard of work expected of you is much higher at university. You can’t get away with small errors the way you could at school. Also, food shopping and cooking for one is harder than you think. I wasted a lot of money and food. Plan your meals for the next few days and make a list of the ingredients you’ll need before going to the shop. And never shop on an empty stomach! We all make mistakes, and that’s how we learn – so embrace the challenge.

– Alice