Completed it, Mate

It’s a weird feeling to be in my second term of third year, and feeling completely on top of my work. This should arguably be my most stressful ever term at university; with deadlines, exams, my dissertation, and extracurriculars, but I actually feel really in control of all my work at the moment. However, I feel like this can be quite a dangerous position, as I could easily fall into the trap of just doing the bare minimum amount of work (writing up lectures, going to tutorials, doing a bit of reading here and there, etc) and not doing anything majorly helpful to getting a good degree. So, I thought I’d give you a few tips on what work you can do throughout the term when you have no work to do:

•  Early Revision: It may seem a crazy idea to start revising 3 months before your exams, but doing practise questions as soon as you’re learning the content can be majorly helpful to make sure you actually understand what you’re being taught. It also gives you plenty of time to get help if you don’t understand it (rather than panicking two days before your exam, when you lecturer hasn’t been seen in 3 weeks)
• Extra Reading: Extra reading, especially for economics, is one of those things we are always told to do, but no one really ever does, and even those who do crack open the books, it rarely greatly impacts their grades. However, some courses require extra reading, and even those courses that only recommend it, reading a journal article once a week is definitely a good routine to get into.
• Helping Others: Just because you’re on top of your work and understanding everything, it doesn’t mean all your friends are. If you have some spare time, your friends would probably love some help and teaching others will also be revision for you – it’s a win-win.
• Earning Some Cash: University can be hard on the bank account, so earning a bit of spare cash can be extremely helpful. However, as it can be a huge distraction from work, picking up extra shifts when all your work is under control would be a great idea.
• Looking Passed Uni: As a third year, I really need to be looking at what my future holds after my rapidly approaching graduation. Although, like with jobs, it can be a major distraction from work. So, when you have some extra spare time, definitely spend an hour researching your future plans.
• Chilling:  Lastly, and most importantly, have a break. Breaks are important whether you have work to do or not, but having a completely guilt free break is a blissful moment. So stick on the TV, grab a bag of popcorn, and have a proper break – the work will catch up with you again soon, trust me.