Written by: Mehtaab Rehman
The ‘Soft Life’ Approach in University
Deadlines fast approaching, you’ve just remembered that piece of coursework that’s due in tomorrow, late night revision sessions- we’ve all been there, and we all know just how stressful and overwhelming that can be. In order to prevent this, its so important that we have systems in place to ensure that we find ourselves in these positions a lot less frequently. Here are a few ways you could adopt the ‘soft life’ approach to your university lifestyle…
- Starting the new week on Sunday evening
One thing that I’ve found to be incredibly helpful, is to sit down every Sunday, to plan what my week ahead will consist of. This allows for a clearer headspace, as it makes you aware of exactly what you’re going to be doing each day, enabling you to clearly see at what times you’re free to schedule in studying, as well as activities that you enjoy.
- Allow yourself frequent breaks
I don’t know about anyone else, but I find it very difficult to sit in a spot to study for one hour straight without getting bored or procrastinating. Which is why I started using the pomodoro technique (which I’m sure most of you have heard of). But for those of you who don’t know, it consists of studying for 25 minutes, and then allowing yourself a five-minute break, and then the cycle repeats itself. I found this helpful for a while, until I realized that there would be times when I would feel as if the five-minute break would actually break my momentum, hence why I found that studying for 40 minutes with a 10-minute break was the best way to go forward, for myself personally. It all really depends on what works best for you as an individual.
- Take care of your mental well-being
I know that we hear this all the time, but I honestly can’t stress the importance of doing at least one activity ever so often to look after your mental health, whether that be playing a sport, journaling, meditation, or even just colouring in a colouring book. When our heads are filled with anxieties and we experience heavy amounts of stress, it makes it difficult to concentrate and focus properly, which is bound to make studying ten times harder than it needs to be.
Here’s an idea – if you don’t do so already, choose one activity to help your mental well-being, and try it for a week straight, and see if it makes a difference to your studying and academic life.
Why not give one of these a go?! Feel free to leave a comment of some ways that you have adopted the ‘soft life’ approach in university!
