How To Prepare For A New Semester

Whether you're at school, a fresher or returning to study imminently, today I'm talking about preparing to get back to class. I'm heading back to Nottingham University for my third and final year as an English student in a few weeks. I'm looking forward to going back although I'm definitely feeling a little lazy at the prospect of work- reading? What is reading? However, I've already done two Autumn semesters and (somehow) have grades I'm pleased with firmly under my belt so I thought I would share some 'wisdom' (I hate patronising 'expert' posts by non-experts, so let me say, this is just personal experience!)

1. Check your emails. Just check em. There is nothing worse than being out of the loop for meetings, classes and sign-ups. I once made the mistake of being a little late getting onto an online seminar sign-up and got stuck in classes at super awkward times. It gets annoying pretty quickly and is enough to kill your motivation to attend. As the start of term draws near, check to see if there's anything you need to be doing and any lists you need to get your name on.

2. Buy a planner or diary. I'm not saying it's necessarily worth blowing your money on anything stupidly expensive, but just get something to write down where you need to be and when. Jot down tasks and deadlines- be it paying your rent (yuck) or reading that Dickens (yuck yuck.) Oh and write down fun stuff too else you'll definitely go crazy.

3. Go stationery crazy... because you can. It is my last year as a student so I'm gonna hit Muji so hard in the next few weeks. I would be nowhere/have no sense of self-worth if I didn't have my Muji Lists to jot down tasks to proudly tick off before rewarding myself with doughnuts.

4. If you're someplace new then the take time to get familiar... with your campus, your tutor's office hours, places to grab food/coffee...it's all about familiarisation! It feels worlds away when you get there, but those three things are the vitals. Take time out of the craziness of freshers' week to explore.

5. Start reading that reading list Keeping up with reading lists is my biggest struggle. I have never once been on the ball with my reading (has anyone?) but if you can at least read one thing before you get back to classes then it's a start. Have I done that yet? My dusty copy of Brave New World is sitting staring at me right now.

6. Finally, blog wise... If you're reading this then there's a good chance you're also a blogger (hello non-bloggers, I love your company too.) The first few weeks of term can be a little wild so you probably want to think about drafting and scheduling posts more seriously than usual. I'm currently working on taking photos for a load of posts so that there's just the writing to do. You put-together people probably already do this so sorry if I'm insulting your organisational skills.

The start of term will always make you feel a little all over the place (stressed...excited...lazy if you're me) but I really hope this inspired you to get into the geek spirit and embrace your studies! I realise that this post isn't particularly freshers-oriented but if anyone wants to chat uni stuff then feel free to drop me an email. I'd be more than happy to chat!

Til next time xo