By: Mikayla Clapp, Public Affairs Writer/Editor
Whether you are a recent high school graduate about to start your college journey or a second-year PhD student, using your summer break to prepare for the upcoming school year can help you both succeed in your coursework and feel more confident in your academic skills as you start a new semester.
Practice Your Writing Skills
It can be very easy to switch off our brains entirely during the summer, but it is important to continue exercising our creative and critical thinking processes to not lose them entirely. Therefore, practicing your writing skills over the summer can make the transition back to coursework and academic writing much smoother come the start of the semester. Taking time to write does not have to be laborious or dull. It can be as fun and easy as setting aside 10-15 minutes a day to journal or respond to interesting writing prompts such as these! A daily practice such as this will ensure that you continue to exercise and build upon the writing skills you’ve developed over your academic journey.
Get Organized
Getting and staying organized is key to academic success. Summer is the perfect time to sort or discard notes and papers from previous semesters, plan out your day-to-day schedule for the upcoming semester, tidy up all of your study spaces, and sift through your digital files and messages. Doing so will ensure you start off the new semester with a clean slate, ready to absorb and take on all of the new information and tasks that will come your way.
Establish a Self-Care Routine
It is important to stay both mentally and physically healthy to do well in your academic coursework. Summer is a great time to check in with yourself to see if your current self-care practices are meeting your needs. If not, over break is the perfect time to adjust your self-care practices and even try something new. Check out this list of 50+ self-care practices for some ideas! Getting enough sleep, movement, and nutritious foods, as well as time for engaging in activities that you enjoy, will help you feel the best that you can.
Look Ahead–Start Planning for Your Professional Life
Summer is an ideal time to evaluate your professional goals beyond academia, and to see if your current path is aligning with your future career objectives. This is also a great time to update your resume, build your resume with volunteer work or a summer internship, and create a detailed plan for how you will achieve your future career goals.
Rest
Although putting in work to prepare for the start of a new semester can be extremely beneficial, it is also important to allow yourself time to rest over the summer. It is essential to give yourself time to rest both physically and mentally during breaks so as to avoid burnout. Spend time doing things you enjoy and relaxing with friends and family so that you will feel recharged and ready to take on a new semester come fall.
Intentionally preparing for the start of classes over summer break will help you feel more ready to take on a new semester and will ensure that you are setting yourself up for success in all areas of your life. Use your summer break to rest, reset, and ready yourself for all that is to come in the fall.