Back on Track after Winter Break
How to get back on track after winter break
So you just went on vacation with your family and enjoyed a full 2 weeks of stuffing yourself and sleeping in late. But now, unfortunately, school is back and you’re having to sit through hours of lectures on new material. The post-break-laziness starts again, and it’s unbearably hard to get out of. The first weeks back in school after a break can be a very relaxed period, but, if you plan ahead, it can also be the most productive few weeks of your school year. It can set you up for an easier and more fulfilling semester if you plan things correctly. Here’s a few tips on how you can make the most of the start of the new semester and get your year off to a good start:
Get organized
Take advantage of the easy first few days. You will rarely have homework assigned or have too much to study. Use this period to get yourself new binders or reorganize old ones. At Elite Private Tutors, we place great importance on organizational skills, because each of us knows from personal experience that organization is the key to success. If you haven’t already done so, get a planner and spend 15 minutes going over you syllabi and writing down important deadlines. Take out all unneeded papers and graded assignments from your binders and trim it down to its bare essentials. Get tabs to divide your binder up into different sections, such as notes, vocabulary, quizzes, tests, and handouts. If you spend the time to organize and plan ahead, you will already be miles ahead of your peers in this next semester.
Use some of your free time to prepare for your future
No one wants to give up their free time to do some work. However, think about the investment you will make: if you sacrifice a little bit of your free time now to finish those last few college application essays, you will not have to stress about them later in the semester when you start getting swamped with work. Commit an hour or two a night until your workload starts piling up to work on essays, job applications, or even upcoming projects in your classes. If there is a looming Junior Research deadline approaching, why not get a little bit of that tedious work out of the way so you will have less to stress about later? In the real world, time management skills like these will get you very far.
Stay on top of your reading
Some classes, such as history and English, rely heavily on textbook information and assignments. If you have the opportunity to look ahead on your classroom schedule, read ahead on some of the material. You will find that it will help you save time in the future and it will actually help you remember the material better. When the teacher goes over the material in class, you will be hearing it for the second time, meaning you will be able to commit that information to memory better. When test time comes around, there will be less material to study.
Explore new options
Since you have the free time, commit to researching about summer opportunities or future endeavors. Some high schools offer international exchange programs that might be worth applying to. These programs are life changing experiences that can both enrich your academic life and look great on future college resumes. Take the initiative and explore some new things.
The start of the new semester can be an incredibly rewarding time that may save you many hours of stress later down the road. The only roadblock standing in front of you is yourself. Get motivated and start your year off right!