Coming back to Verona after four weeks at home for Christmas to be greeted by exams is not fun. After all the comforts of home, the excitement of Christmas and all my friends being home for a few weeks, I have to say settling back in to life in Verona was a struggle. With exams looming, I struggled to get into a daily routine again. Having done three exams and an essay before Christmas I\u2019ll admit that throughout the holidays I did no work. I felt like I had earned a break after spending the run-up to Christmas shut away in my room or the library studying all day.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why I decided to come back to Italy a couple of weeks before my exams started. It was difficult to say goodbye to my family and friends again, not knowing if I would see them before summer now. But with exams approaching, and the fact that I was getting no work done at home (my dog is the biggest distraction), going back to Verona a bit early was my last-ditch attempt at actually getting some revision done. I had to tell myself that all my friends at home would be heading back to university soon too. And as for my family, it was so nice to be back home with them during Christmas, but if I spent much longer at home I probably would have killed them so there\u2019s that too.<\/p>\n
As I begin to fall into a good routine, I thought I\u2019d share some tips for settling (back) in to university life and exam period after a long break:<\/p>\n
Yes, revision is important, but so is everything else like eating, exercising and relaxing.<\/p>\n
–\tDon\u2019t skip meals<\/strong> to carry on revising because chances are you won\u2019t retain as much information as you would after a good meal. Your mind and body will start to tire and any work you do will be a waste of time, so eat well<\/strong> and have regular breaks<\/strong> to allow your brain to catch up \u2013 this will refresh you and allow you to continue working just as hard after.<\/p>\n –\tForce yourself to do some form of exercise<\/strong> every day. Going for a walk<\/strong> or run<\/strong> in the fresh air will refresh your mind and body and enable you to retain more information. Record yourself saying your notes and listen to it while you go for a run \u2013 you\u2019re getting exercise, fresh air and still revising! Win win. Even doing a light workout in your room<\/strong> is better than nothing. I\u2019m all for watching a YouTube exercise video and sweating it out in the comfort of my room before getting back to revision. Getting up from your desk every so often is essential. As an excuse to leave the house every day, I buy my food little and often. I go to a shop across town, so I am out of the house for at least a couple of hours each day, taking a nice walk through the city as I do so.<\/p>\n –\tIt is crucial to relax<\/strong> during exam time, too. Make sure you schedule in time to chill out and watch Netflix in the evening. However, talking from experience, don\u2019t fall into the Netflix quicksand and binge an entire series as procrastination. (Eight episodes in a day – I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m embarrassed or proud?)<\/p>\n –\tCatch up with your flatmates<\/strong> every day to make sure neither you or they are trapping themselves away working for too long. Make dinner together, watch TV together for a bit or even revise together in the kitchen or the library. Human interaction is vital<\/strong> to maintain good mental health and not go stir-crazy during this stressful time.<\/p>\n That\u2019s procrastination over for me, time to get back to the books!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Coming back to Verona after four weeks at home for Christmas to be greeted by exams is not fun. After all the comforts of home, the excitement of Christmas and […]","protected":false},"author":1632,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[268],"tags":[42,48,90],"class_list":["post-3572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-europe","tag-erasmus","tag-exams","tag-studying"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4QQbz-VC","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3525,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/what-exams\/","url_meta":{"origin":3572,"position":0},"title":"What exams?","author":"Phoebe Grinter","date":"December 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"As I sit in the library attempting to write the longest essay I\u2019ve ever written \u2013 5000 words, pray for me \u2013 I decide I need a *debatably* well-earned break! Some may call this procrastination, I call it an \u2018active study break\u2019. I\u2019m sure many people, myself definitely included, struggle\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "European Placements"","block_context":{"text":"European Placements","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/category\/europe\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":497,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/some-advice-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":3572,"position":1},"title":"Some advice.","author":"Sara Rahman","date":"February 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"After 4 months of studying abroad, 5 and a half weeks of backpacking, and 4 weeks of settling back into Welsh living, I\u2019m back in Cardiff to tell you about my experience away. I still remember it like it was yesterday, walking through the different coloured zones in City University\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Placements"","block_context":{"text":"International Placements","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/category\/international-exchange\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2016\/02\/IMG_7960.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2016\/02\/IMG_7960.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2016\/02\/IMG_7960.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2016\/02\/IMG_7960.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2016\/02\/IMG_7960.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2016\/02\/IMG_7960.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3911,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/philosophy-assignments-cardiff-vs-oslo\/","url_meta":{"origin":3572,"position":2},"title":"Philosophy assignments: Cardiff vs. Oslo","author":"Tammy-Louise Wilkins","date":"September 16, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"As I write this, I have just submitted my first of seven assignments to one of the three modules I am taking at the University of Oslo. It is incredibly strange to realise that, at this point last year, the autumn semester at Cardiff had yet to begin and here\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "European Placements"","block_context":{"text":"European Placements","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/category\/europe\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2019\/08\/13.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2019\/08\/13.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2019\/08\/13.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2019\/08\/13.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1205,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/a-quick-summary-of-7-weeks-in-hong-kong\/","url_meta":{"origin":3572,"position":3},"title":"A quick summary of 7 weeks in Hong Kong","author":"Anna Ingram","date":"October 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi everyone,\u00a0my name is Anna and I'm a second year Psychology student currently on a one-semester exchange\u00a0at the University of Hong Kong. I love to travel and see new places, so when the Psych department at Cardiff said this exchange was available, I was sure I wanted to go for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Placements"","block_context":{"text":"International Placements","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/category\/international-exchange\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2016\/10\/20160823_075139-450x253.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1311,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/im-half-way\/","url_meta":{"origin":3572,"position":4},"title":"I\u2019m half way!","author":"Lorna Hayne","date":"October 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s week 7 here out of a 12-week term, it\u2019s scary how fast time here is flying by and I\u2019m beginning to panic that I won\u2019t get everything I want to do done before I leave! Cramming my weeks full of school work so that the weekends are free, so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Placements"","block_context":{"text":"International Placements","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/category\/international-exchange\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"One of the lakes we hiked around at Whistler ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2016\/10\/blog-3.1-253x450.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1416,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/seattle\/","url_meta":{"origin":3572,"position":5},"title":"Seattle","author":"Lorna Hayne","date":"November 16, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve only got 2 and a half weeks of school left before finals start- where has the time gone?! In Canada, you get a day off for Remembrance Weekend, so we bussed to Seattle for the weekend- we stayed in City Hostel- which was in an amazing location. We went\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Placements"","block_context":{"text":"International Placements","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/category\/international-exchange\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Seattle at dusk ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/281\/2016\/11\/15064017_1456117984415603_826402847_o-254x450.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"meta_box":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1632"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3572"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3572\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3597,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3572\/revisions\/3597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/globetrotters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}