Monday, April 30, 2012

Four ways to start your summer break off on the right foot

I hope you rocked your final exams and are excited to have finished another semester! And even if you're taking summer classes, you'll still have a decent chunk of summer coming up where your class load will be either reduced or non-existent. 

Sometimes after an intense period of stress our instinct is to go to the other extreme and do nothing for a long period of time. I'm a huge believer in taking periods of rest and relaxation (essential!), but letting intense stress serve as an excuse for intense prolonged laziness is not good.

So here are some ways to make sure you are getting your summer break off to a great start!

Get up.

Set the alarm. I think you should sleep in over the summer, just not every day. If you are working late nights, sometimes sleeping until noon is essential. However, try to find that balance. Get sleep, get rest, but don’t miss out on the mornings; 3 month-long summers are a perk of college life – don’t miss too much of them by being asleep. 

Get going.

Develop a daily routine – exercise, socialize, journal, clean – do whatever you can to keep yourself moving. Sometimes you can forget the benefits of having that structure of a schedule of classes. Keep your energy up by building a routine and resist the urge to vegetate for the entire summer. 

Get experience.

If you are working a job that has something to do with your future career ambition, talk to your supervisors and see what extra responsibilities you can take on over the summer break to gain experience. The extra time without classes (or with less classes during the summer term) can allow you to gain some incredible extra experiences and challenges. 

If you are working a job that you don’t want to work after you graduate, take the opportunity to get volunteer experience at a place of interest. It doesn’t have to be much – a day or a few hours a week is great – but think of the benefits both to your community and your resume! Next summer, you could be working there gaining valuable post-grad experience. 

Get memories.

If you do find yourself with time to spare this summer, make the most of it. Like I said, the long summer experience is hard to replicate in life after college. Take a trip, strengthen relationships, read a great book, see a good movie. The simple things that free time can afford should never be passed up – especially during your college experience.  

I hope you have a great start to your summer!

And here is a quick preview of some of the things that I will be writing about this summer:
  • Tales of transferring – stories of students transferring from community college and the advice they can offer for other students getting ready to switch schools.
  • Student volunteer opportunities and experiences – places where students have volunteered and the beneficial experiences that they have had.
  • Informational interviews – I have quite a few interviews with interesting professionals coming up – I also will offer some more advice to you in terms of getting and setting up networking opportunities.
If you're interested in being featured on the blog this summer, check out http://isaadney.com/blog/you/

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