Tips to Maximize Productivity Over Your Holiday Break
Holiday breaks can be the perfect time to reflect and reassess – what aided success this last semester, and what hindered performance? Here are a few key tips to deepen your understanding of your (or your student’s) academic journey:
Request Final Tests and Papers
If you don’t know where to begin evaluating, requesting tests and papers assigned throughout the semester is a great place to start. If they’re not marked with corrections, soliciting feedback from teachers will be key to gaining insight. Not only does looking over these materials help reinforce critical topics, it also shows teachers that you’re actively engaged in bettering your understanding and improving in the new year.
Devise Concrete Goals
With an understanding of what subjects and assignments you struggled the most with, create a plan for success moving forward by making SMART goals to focus on for the next few weeks. Did you do well on homework, but need to be more proactive in studying for tests or preparing for bigger assignments? Maybe creating and studying flashcards for subjects you’ll be tested on in the new year would be of benefit. If you’ve procrastinated on applying for scholarships (calling all seniors!) or gaining volunteer experience (looking at you, juniors!), parcel out time to make sure it happens. Schedule time out beforehand for productive work, planning more complex tasks for when you’re most alert and able to focus.
Initiate Healthier Habits
Not only do school breaks provide an opportunity to reset academically, but they also allow us the chance to reevaluate our mental and physical health. What habits around well being bolstered or degraded your overall health last quarter? Checking in with yourself about your sleeping, eating, social media, and exercise habits may illuminate areas in need of improvement. If you tend to let hours slip by on your phone, consider setting a time limit for certain apps. Although it takes longer than a couple weeks to break some habits, without the added demand of classes and extracurriculars, winter break is a great opportunity to form new neural pathways!
Take Time to Simply Enjoy
Make sure to utilize this break to reset with activities that you may not normally have time for. Perhaps work out a plan where you can reward yourself with these activities after a bit of productivity. Expert research continues to show the benefits of being outdoors on both mind and body – aim at getting outside every day if possible! Most importantly, give yourself some much needed rest and healing after a busy semester.
If you find you simply aren't gaining mastery over certain subjects regardless of effort, one-on-one tutoring is a great resource to try. Our study skills program supports students struggling to switch up academic routines that simply don’t produce fruit.
Get in touch with our team to explore a path toward academic success, and don’t forget to enjoy your winter holiday!