Overview: It is mid-year break time and I wish everyone a safe, happy, fun and rejuvenating break. A couple of simple suggestions in the post and look forward to seeing everyone in Semester 2. Reading time ~ 3.6 minutes.
It’s Monday!
And whilst I buckle down to get some work done, for many students it is mid-year break 🎆🥳🙌🎉
With this in mind, I want to wish all of you a happy, safe, rejuvenating, relaxing mid-year break.
Whatever it is you plan to get up to: shenanigans, work, catch-up study, world domination, lying on the ground, playing with a dog, doomscrolling, I hope it re-energises you for Semester 2.
A few tips from a psychologist (i.e. me) who is actually quite bad at taking good holidays but still gives holiday advice anyway 😆
- Try breaking out of your usual routine – different places, different activities – in order to give your brain some novelty and different focus. This might mean some travel, extra work hours, time spent with peeps you haven’t seen in a while. It is winter, so I suggest a warm jumper whatever you do 🥶
- As the mid-year break period is coming to a close and S2 approaches, try to reintroduce some good basic routines – sleep, eating times, exercise, relaxation – that you can carry into and through Semester 2. That way when you hit S2 it doesn’t feel like such a shock to the system.
- If Semester 1 didn’t quite go to plan (e.g. you fell behind, poor grades), resist the urge to repeatedly flagellate yourself for it and instead focus on a few small changes you could make to your study habits or routines that might help you get off to a better start in S2. Students often feel like they should arrive at Uni and immediately start crushing it. If you had a great S1, then keep it up. But if you find it is taking you a bit longer than you expected to hit your strides, be patient, and focus on little improvements over time. Maybe sign up for a Semester 2 wellbeing program.
- Remember that services like ours (Health, Counselling and Disability Services) run through the break, so get in touch with us if needed.
- Try having fun. We live in a culture that provides many avenues for leisure (🤹♂️💃🏂🏌️♀️🏄♂️🚴♀️), but sometimes we neglect to explore them. Some of us adhere a little too tightly to the idea that ‘work’ is the best use of our time. There is no shame in the pursuit of fun and pleasure. Just remember to come back when uni starts 😏
- Follow the Oasis team on social media. They’ll be announcing stuff for S2 that might be of interest to you.
I’ve had the opportunity to interact with many students this year, delivering programs and lectures and stuff like that.
I’ve really appreciated the opportunity and marvelled at the resilience students have shown in tackling their studies, alongside many sources of uncertainty (COVID, politics, climate, etc). I don’t think there is any doubt that we live in uncertain times. Uncertainty and anxiety can overwhelm us, but it is in the focus on daily rituals and practices that we can find some calm in the storm.
During the break, take a few deep breaths, focus on the present moment, build refreshing daily routines and trust that looking after yourself and your immediate friends and family is what will sustain all of us during these times. Then strap yourself in for Semester 2 🎢
I look forward to welcoming you back in a few weeks.
Take care
Dr G