Today is my first day back to university, even if it is an online seminar. Luckily I do have half my seminars in person so I look forward to those as I feel they will really get me into the mood to start this year. As I look ahead I’ve decided to set myself a few goals to give me a sense of direction and if I feel lost I can look back at these.
Attend all my seminars: This is such an important thing, even just missing one you could miss something really important. Especially with lectures being online it is so much easier to attend the lectures. Now this does not mean turn the lecture on while you go on your phone, take notes and engage with the seminars.
Work in a work space: I often get tempted to get into bed to do some work but this really is a habit I need to break. I work so much more focused when I work at my desk and that is something I need to focus on. Even though its only the first day back I have made sure to do all my work at my desk today so hopefully this is something I can keep up with for the rest of the year.
Work hard and produce work I’m proud of: I want to come out of university with a good degree that I feel I have really worked for. I also don’t want to see my results and feel I could have done better because of this I hope to work to the best of my ability. Though of course a balance is important which brings me to my next goal.
Avoid burnout: Make sure I get the work life balance right. I feel if I work myself to death, in the long run it will have a negative effect on not only my mental and physical health but the quality of my work too. My goal is to get the balance as good as I can, I know its extremely difficult to find a perfect balance but I hope I can plan things so that it works well for me.
Enjoy the social side: With the freedom of university comes a great social life, which I want to take advantage of. It will most likely be a lot more difficult to arrange time to see friends once university is over so I want to make the most of the time I have. It may be a bit more difficult with the whole coronavirus going on but I hope I will still have a lot of fun and make some amazing memories.
Feel as sense of fulfilment at the end: The most important thing to me is really just to feel that sense of ‘I had an amazing university experience’ when I finish. That’s the big goal really to feel I made the most of it both academically and socially and not feel regrets that I didn’t try something I wanted to do.
Eden Emily Blogs 