Psychology is the perfect subject for me. My contact hours give my days some structure, making it a lot easier to plan around them. Generally speaking, I’ll have 15-20 contact hours a week. Although this fluctuates depending on the point in the term. It may sound like a lot in comparison to other courses, but don’t panic! Some things, like feedback sessions, are optional.
I’ll talk you through one of my days late in the Autumn term, just to give an example. Thankfully, not all of my days are this hectic but I thought I’d document one that makes me look productive and studious.
Morning
I started off with a Social, Personality & Abnormal lecture from 9-11am. We can’t complain about this early start, as there’s not a student club night on Monday’s so there’s no excuse to stay in bed!
This was followed by a Development & Language lecture from 11am-1pm. It’s not too bad though because we get a bit of a break in between. If we’re lucky, it’s long enough to go grab a mid-morning panini from Roger Kirk Centre (as I may or may not do much more often than I should…).
Every lecture you’ll have as a psychology student at York is two hours long. This is an advantage because there will be a break halfway through for you to ask any questions and chat to the lecturer. Plus, it makes the trip to your department seem much more worth it!
Afternoon
After these two lectures, I had a gap in my timetable from 1-2pm. I popped to the Roger Kirk Centre and made a beeline for the squishy sofas and did the assigned reading for my tutorial th
at afternoon. Twice a term, you’ll have a session for each of your five modules with a group of 10-15 people. This provides the opportunity for more focussed study on a particular topic area in the strand. On this particular day, I had my Perception & Cognition tutorial from 2-3pm.
Like I said, I love the structure provided by my timetable. I find it easier to stay motivated and schedule what work I will do and when, as well as fitting in meetings and social time. I knew I would already be on campus, so I booked a careers meeting at 3:15pm to chat with my advisor about my ongoing placement year search – this is the bane of my life at the moment, so the support and motivation from her are always very much in need.
After all that brain exertion, I met my friend at Courtyard for a well-deserved beverage and bowl of nachos. Before heading to the library to finish off my Brain & Behaviour essay due in later that week.
Evening
Around 6pm I think my brain had pretty much given up – somewhat ironically – so I headed home. I caught up with my housemates and chilled out for a bit before popping out to York Sport Village for an hour at 7:30pm. I know that for a lot of people, going to the gym would not be their idea of an evening well spent, but I love being active. Even if it’s just an excuse to watch Netflix on my phone while I’m on the cross-trainer, it never fails helps me sleep better and feel more positive.
A great bonus of student life is that you can tailor your days to suit how you’re feeling and (trust me) they won’t all be as productive as this. It’s just a matter of getting the right balance of productivity, socialising and downtime and you’re bound to do alright.
Leave a Reply