5 Things I Do Over Reading Break

Afternoon, everyone!!!

Yesterday was the first official day of my week-long hiatus from university, otherwise known as Reading Break, which is akin to the secondary school Spring Break. I do so love Reading Break because it offers an oh-so-delightful reprieve from the university schedule and, despite what the name implies, I do not know many people who actually read during this time. However, it is a great time to do a few little things to keep you on track at school and not end up freaking out in the last weeks. Some of you may remember my post on the 5 things I do at the start of each school term, so I wanted to follow up with a post on the 5 things I do over Reading Break.

1. Organize my notes

While some of you may still have midterms looming in the first week back to school, I was fortunate enough this term to get all mine over with before Reading Break. While this was nice in a way because now I can enjoy my week off, it also means that my notes are in a right state of disarray. I use Reading Break as a chance to sit down, sort out my notes into piles for each class, and then file them away for when I need to study them for final exams. I also like to read through them all for a quick review and to flesh out any ideas or fill in any sentences that start out like this “Two main problems with categorical perception as evidence for human specialization for language are . . . ” but have no ending. That little fact might just turn up on a test.

2. Get a head start on assignments and projects

I know no one likes to think about doing more schoolwork on their time off, but it is really advantageous to even map out an outline for an essay, a draft for a research paper, or a rough idea of an in-class presentation. This week, I have been madly at work on a journal article summary that I have to present to my class in two weeks, mini assignments for my class on psychological disorders in adulthood, and a corpus analysis project that isn’t due until the last day of classes but I never know what my wireless internet will be like. For all I know, it’ll go on strike when I need it most and I’ll have to resort to typing out my summary on my old Underwood typewriter. Not knocking typewriters, but the backspace button on a keyboard is much more convenient if I make a mistake.

3. Tidy my study space

This one is similar to 1. in that my desk is a right mess once reading break comes along. There are sticky notes everywhere, snacks stashed on every shelf, and pen caps that have mysteriously vanished. Before I get back into the groove of sleep, eat, study, repeat I want to make sure my desk and bedroom are restored to a state of organization I can live with.

4. Sit down with a good book

With all of the assigned textbook readings for classes, what little spare time I have left is not often spent reading some more, even for pleasure. Thus, I have been at the same spot in Margaret Atwood’s book The Heart Goes Last, and I am dying to know how it ends (no spoilers!!!). Well, now I can actually sit down and finish it without it hurting my head and competing with all my school stuff for space in my brain.

5. Plan out some blog posts

I have been making a list of things I want to post about throughout this week, and have drafted a few of them to get my inspiration flowing. By the time school is back in session, there may be an inspiration drought, and I do not want my posts to come to a halt because all I have on my mind is which inflectional affixes children acquire first when learning language or the difference between exogenous and endogenous orienting to space.

What are you up to over Reading Break???