
Noah Jabusch
After the two week gauntlet of finals we just finished slogging through, it can be tempting to finish that last exam, go home, and erase the horrors of the past semester from your memory as completely as possible over the next three weeks.
Although we all deserve a break from the stress and strain of classes, homework and extracurricular activities, we also owe it to ourselves to not transition into couch potatoes for the 25 days between the end of exams and start of classes. Instead, a healthier mindset is to maintain a level of productivity throughout break to ease the transition into next semester.
The most crucial step is to keep track of one’s schedule and make final revisions. As students start seeing their final grades in classes this semester, many will need to adjust their plans in response to doing better or worse than expected. For these students, and those still trying to enroll in classes they have always aimed to take, winter break is a useful period for switching in and out of classes.
Getting an early start yields more opportunities to see a slot open up in small classes, as well as the stress reduction of not pushing changes back closer to the add and drop deadlines, which arrive fairly soon after the first day for NC State. Beginning with scheduling also helps reduce the chance of preparing for a class that you end up not taking.
Once a relatively stable schedule emerges, especially in major classes, one can prepare for the content by looking at the course description and identifying areas they have previously explored. Briefly reviewing content over break, even from the semester before, is an excellent way to lessen the post-exam memory wipe and maintain mental stamina for the first day of class.
It may seem preferable to catch up on material as a class addresses it, rather than attempting to predict content ahead of time. While this can be an effective strategy, points of confusion can be more readily addressed if you come into a class knowing what you know and don’t know. Otherwise, it’s easy to assume that all of one’s difficulties stem from forgetting previous material and that the content will make sense upon review, which it still may not.
Along these lines, reflecting on experiences in the past semester can promote growth in the future. This task is especially useful to first-years, who may have begun the year not knowing what to expect from their classes. Evaluating mistakes and successes is a pivotal exercise in adapting to the environment of college, and the down time of winter break is the perfect time to rethink study habits, time management, or even one’s major.
Despite the fact there are no classes to wake early for, it is wise not to skew one’s sleep schedule too heavily. Shifting radically from staying up and sleeping in late over break to going to sleep and waking up early once classes start is a painful adjustment. NC State’s winter break schedule makes this particularly difficult, as the three to four week interval is more than enough to allow for serious deviation from a class-oriented sleep schedule.
Apart from academic preparations, the most important task for break is to enjoy it. This may seem contrary to the idea of productivity, but in fact maintaining one’s psychological well-being by taking personal time can be an extremely productive venture. However, since break time is limited, it’s crucial to make the most of time off by contemplating what recreational activities will reap the most happiness.
It’s easy to let vacation fly past without feeling like it was nearly long enough. Anticipating the value of this time from the outset enables one to put the break to its fullest use. Whether arranging classes to match with one’s needs and priorities, reviewing past experiences, or just striving to maximize enjoyment, we all stand to gain from engaging actively in winter break, rather than disconnecting from the world entirely.