GETTING THE MOST OUT OF READING WEEK

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Many campuses are on Reading Week starting this Friday and back 10 to class days later. Some will come back refreshed; some will come back wiped, and others will fall on all increments between these extremes.log Some will come back caught up on coursework with a head start on the rest of the term; some will wonder how they managed to get further behind than they were before Reading Week. The key to where you fall between those extremes depends to a significant degree on how you set the week up–which is what you can do with a little foresight this week.

Student lives are so varied there is no prescription that will fit everyone. Life is full: People are getting married, visiting family, taking vacations, training for sports events, interviewing other campuses for a postgrad degree, helping out friends, spending extra parenting time, taking on extra shifts at work . . . the list goes on!

One common problem is saving up too much to get done during Reading Week with the result that key priorities go by the boards. Another common problem is the understandable feeling of entitlement that after working so hard since Christmas, we deserve some me time. Lots of it. So the ten days go by, and somehow, we just don’t do it. Whatever “it” might be.

With both problems, Reading Week can result in being further behind on everything, feeling disappointed in ourselves, and facing a pretty tense March.

What to do?

A little proactive effort the first few days this week can pay big benefits by addressing these problems before they become big issues. Grab a tea or whatever is in your big Stanley mug and get ready to Prioritize, Plan, Schedule, and reward!

Prioritize

You probably have more than one call on your time for Reading Week: Break out the areas into columns, sections of a pie chart, whatever visualization works on paper for you. You likely have academic, miscellaneous appointments, and social calls on your time–please add “Self” as a priority.

Now for each area, jot down what is most important for you to get done by the end of term. Later, while planning, you’ll decide what is realistic to get done during Reading Week.

Plan

The first step is to get the immovables onto your calendar so that you know the time resources you have available. This would include deadlines from your syllabus, friends’ wedding dates, work commitments, appointments, et cetera.

For each area, outline the tasks and steps you need to take and enter them on your priority sheet. 

You may find that you need to reconsider your priorities now when you see how crowded your sheet is. Double down on what is really important, and that includes some “me” time, by the way.

Getting ahead

(Or catching up if you are behind). 

Focussing on your academic priorities, (after all, that is my area), check out your progress in each course and identify where you could use some of those ten days to get a leap on March:

  • Do you need to make an appointment with an instructor to go over a paper? Or with a TA to go over quiz questions you missed? Or with a librarian for pointers on how to research your term paper?
  • Is there a skills-building workshop that would help with an area that is challenging for you (exams, research, writing)?
  • Is there a project you need to book research time for?
  • Do you need more information from an instructor or TA before you understand exactly what the syllabus, rubric and instructor expect? This is the week to ask for clarifications and expectations.
  • Do you need time for reading ahead or reviewing notes and readings to build memory and comprehension?
  • Pick what’s most valuable for your academic goals–and that means not trying to do everything on this list.

Focus on your other priorities similarly. The friend’s wedding, for example: if you’re not part of the bridal party, a presence with good wishes may suffice, rather than party hearty to the end. On the other hand, if you are part of the bridal party, you probably will prioritize staying to the end.

Other People’s Priorities? Boundaries!

Social pressure, work pressure and family pressure: as a student at whatever stage in your life, sometimes it feels like everyone wants a piece of you, and there aren’t any pieces left for you. Planning your social, work, and family commitments means you control them (I know, life happens, but still) to a much greater extent than they control you.

Here is where you don’t let yourself be guilted (and that includes guilting yourself) for attending to your priorities. Some reading and practice in assertive, nonaggressive boundary maintenance can be useful. If you’re not in the habit of saying, “I’d like to xx, maybe we can yy [substitute alternative that respects your boundaries while maintaining your work or social engagement],” it takes thinking ahead and practice!

Me Time

Daily plan time for short, refreshing breaks, as well as time for activities that refresh you.

Schedule

Now it’s time to bring this all together and schedule the academic tasks you’ve prioritized, the appointments, the social time, and the me time.

There should be blanks in your calendar because some things will take longer than you planned, and an unplanned contingency may land on you.

Reward

 I’ve blogged elsewhere about rewards, reinforcement, and endorsement. Plan the reinforcers and rewards, and practice the self-endorsement. 

Your reward might be for getting a particularly challenging task completed (or started) by the end of the ten days. That reward doesn’t have to be expensive or lengthy. It just has to mean something to you: buying a game, taking the dog for a couple of hours to a dog park, browsing a store that’s new to you. And if you don’t complete the task as far as you’d planned, you know that it is probably further along than if you hadn’t prioritized it and got it going.

Endorse. I’m saying it again. Endorse for every effort. Just a little word. Endorse for planning your Reading Week, and endorse again for scheduling it.

Top Priority

The top priority is to recognize that prioritizing, planning, and scheduling are not magic bullets. They will fall apart in places and need to be brushed up. The key take-home is that you will have a better Reading Week if you plan, prioritize and schedule to whatever extent works for you than if you don’t!

My students will be putting together their Reading Week plans in our sessions this week. Connect if you’d like to meet for suggestions that fit your program [email protected].

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS, PLEASE DIAL 911.