How to balance study and life during the holidays

At home, your routine isn’t always your own, making it harder to manage your study time during the holidays. We give some tips on how to stay productive while maintaining a good study-life balance.

Create a study routine during holidays

Organising your time is vital to help you balance rest and study. Plan what you need to learn and when during your holidays. Setting this out at the beginning will help you determine how much time to spend studying and how much time you’ll then have to relax. This will be a necessary step towards achieving balance while you're not at school or uni.

How to balance study and life

Once you have a plan, you can prioritise topics by how well you know them. Deciding which subjects to focus on can help you feel less stressed and more in control: you’ll know some topics better than others, so divide your time accordingly. Establishing which topics need more attention will help you use your time effectively.

Once you’ve done some productive holiday study, you’ll feel more satisfied and able to enjoy your time off.

How to stay productive and relaxed

Be flexible with your holiday revision routine. A plan will give you structure and routine during the holidays. But you’ll need to keep in mind the changes that can occur during the holiday season. You may be more motivated on some days than others. Family members may arrive for an unscheduled visit. So your studying schedule – and your mindset – should be flexible enough to accommodate any such changes. This will help you feel in control, so you don’t feel stressed about the change.

Setting healthy study boundaries

Part of having a flexible revision plan is to review how it’s going. You should have an idea of how effective your plan is after a few days, whether it’s aligned with how you revise best, and if there are any changes that you need to make. This will ensure that you’re maintaining a healthy balance of work and rest.

Study motivation during holidays

One way to keep up your motivation is to write a ‘to be’ list. In contrast to a to-do list, a to-be list focuses on what you want to become and will help you make a list of what you want to achieve. It’s a reminder of the person you want to be and how setting time aside for your studies will drive this.

Write your ‘to be’ list each morning to set you up for the day, stay motivated, and achieve balance.

Have a space for studying at home

Choose a designated space for your studies. It could be at your desk, a lounge table, or in your parents' home office. Having a consistent place for revision will train your brain to know that when you’re there, you’re in study mode and you need to focus.

It’s ok to have a couple of spaces for studying if you like to move around. But ensure you only use these spaces for revision. For example, if you do your studies while in bed, you’ll train your brain to associate being in bed with an active study brain. When bedtime comes, you’ll struggle to fall asleep and you’ll impair your sleep routine – negatively affecting your mood, concentration and focus the next day.

Balancing rest and study

Make sleep a priority. No balance can be achieved without enough sleep. Sleep is integral to your health and wellbeing. You’ll find it difficult to focus, achieve your revision goals, and enjoy your time off after a lack of sleep. Create your revision plan with the importance of sleep in mind, prioritising 8–9 hours each night.

Don’t compare

Comparison’s the thief of joy. Your friends may have different plans for revision during the holidays and may spend more or fewer hours studying and relaxing each day. But they’re not you. Only you’ll know how to achieve your balance of study and life.

Do ask friends for advice for their holiday study tips and how they’re achieving balance, but don’t feel compelled to copy what they’re doing. Learn what works best for you. After all, there's only one version of you.