At this point in the year, if you’re in your first year you’re probably just about getting the hang of living on your own – especially having been home for Christmas which suddenly feels really weird – there are a few tasks that become a lot easier if you do them every week.
Laundry – doing your washing doesn’t have to be once every three weeks in a load that doesn’t properly wash or dry because the load is too big. Just pick one day, probably when you aren’t going to leave your flat for a couple of hours and every week go and do you’re washing. You’ll feel organised and you’ll have clean clothes, it’s a win-win.
Tidy your space – over the week, your desk and living space can get a bit clustered – things get dropped on your desk and some clothes will probably end up on your floor but if you spend just ten minutes a week tidying things and putting them away then again, you’ll feel organised and it might even make you want to do some uni work, but don’t push yourself too hard, y’know.
Make a food plan – whilst improvising dinner, eating Pot Noodles and frozen pizza sounds like an ideal life plan, if you want to eat healthily and cook meals, then it’s easiest if you make a list and plan food for an entire week, then you only have to go shopping once and it actually ends up being cheaper in the long run. If you plan to have frozen pizza for dinner one night, that’s absolutely fine but at least if you’ve planned it you don’t have to run to Asda ten minutes before it shuts to buy it.
Look at your bank account – I know, it hurts but knowing how much money you have (or how close you are to the end of your overdraft) can make it easier to have more control and start moving in the other direction, if that’s one of your New Years Resolutions. Keeping track of your money and spending is difficult but making lists and staying on top of it does make it a little bit easier.
Make a list of assignments, exams and revision – it isn’t nice, but listing every piece of uni work you have to do means you do have it all written down in one place. Even if you then don’t do anything about it, you have the list of everything that needs to be done.
Make a to do list in general – this is where you can refine your uni work if you need to, put what you actually need to do in order, pick a certain topic to revise or pick a certain theme you need to research, alongside other weekly tasks like laundry or making a food list – a to do list is a really easy way to keep this all in one place.
Clean your bathroom/bedroom – not just tidying it but actually making sure it’s clean – whether it’s just wiping down your bathroom, putting some bleach in the toilet and changing your bed sheets, a couple of tasks a week will do the job. Don’t be stinky.
Start a ‘Wishlist’ – if you’re trying to save money and you’re prone to spending a lot, making a wish list of things you want to buy when you have a bit more money. Then it’s there and you know you will buy it at some point but you haven’t actually spent the money.
Definitely have at least one Netflix binge a week, minimum – you’re not a real student if you don’t procrastinate a lot, right?
Eat – get through at least one full box of ice cream, one full bar of chocolate or one full packet of Haribo, maybe all three, whilst binging on Netflix.
Then don’t do any of the above.
I’m joking, but doing these tasks every week isn’t easy, so maybe just pick one or two. Happy New Year and good luck for your next semester at uni!
In The Student Seat: Sophie
blog: SophieCountsClouds
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