Making the Most of the Break

The end of Term One is upon us and the holidays are calling. You’ve all worked so hard and started the year so well despite the challenges that have been thrown at you!

We're here to give you some tips on how to use your holidays to prepare yourselves for next term. Don’t worry that’s not to say we’ll be taking away from your time watching Christmas movies and eating mince pies.

Some of you will have exams and coursework due in January so the key to preparing for that and enjoying a nice and relaxing break is time management and prioritisation.

Here are our top tips:

• Map out your upcoming deadlines and work out your priorities, asking yourself "where do I need to focus my attention most?"
• If you're away for the break, make sure you take any revision resources you might need.
• Set aside an hour or two in the morning to work so you can have the rest of the day to enjoy the festivities.
• Plan your study time ahead so you aren’t cramming everything in the last weekend of the holidays, feeling like you should have started sooner. We've all been there!
• Stay hydrated. We know it sounds obvious but around Christmas and times of celebration especially it can be easy for your day to look like this - wake, coffee, coffee, alcohol, alcohol, alcohol, Irish coffee/Baileys, hot chocolate, bed - if you drink alcohol. You will find it far easier to concentrate and feel so much better by adding a few glasses of water into the mix.
• When you are studying over the break, during that hour or two you have allocated, try to stay off social media. Social media is good at making it seem like no one else is studying and just celebrating, which more often than not, makes you feel like you should call it a day too. Others are studying, they just aren’t posting about it.

Returning to university after a few weeks at home can be a little daunting too. At the Students’ Union we are here to support you so if you are feeling like you need to speak to someone, please do get in contact.

FURTHER SUPPORT

With dedicated pages for housing, academic, and welfare advice, there's loads of information and support available on our website.

The Advice Centre is a free, independent, and confidential service for all students here at Royal Holloway. Our friendly, experienced, and professional staff will provide a listening ear and offer general and specialist advice. We’re here to support you with a whole range of issues, big and small, and if we’re not the best people to help you with a particular issue, we’ll point you in the right direction.

Email us at advice@su.rhul.ac.uk with any questions.