My day starts at what for most students is probably an ungodly hour. However, I’ve always been a morning person and I feel most productive first thing in the day. So the day usually starts at 7.30am (well that’s what time my alarm goes off anyway).
If I’m honest, I don’t often have breakfast but this is one of those ‘do as I say and not what I do’ moments! You really should have it, in order to get the day off to a good start. When I do have breakfast, it is usually in the form of cereals or a waffle, and I’ll try and have some water too to start the day by being hydrated.
Once I’ve washed and got dressed, I like to get comfortable at my desk and log on to my laptop. On a typical day I log on for 8am. I usually start by reading one of that week’s books for an hour, to get into the zone and focus.
After this, I usually work through some of the tasks I have planned for the day. I have a weekly desk planner that I find really useful as it helps remind me of anything I have on that day such as Zoom calls and seminars. I cross things off once they are completed, which leaves me with a sense of accomplishment.
I have lunch around 1 or 2 pm, which is usually when I find a natural gap in the day. At the moment I often have a bowl of soup with some bread as it’s really filling and comforting, especially as the weather is starting to get that much colder.
For the rest of the afternoon, I continue to work through my daily tasks and remember to keep drinking water as I go. I haven’t always been the best at remembering to stay hydrated, but when I do I always feel much better. I like to make lecture and seminar notes by hand as I find they stay in my memory better that way, although a lot of people choose to type their notes as well.
I like to take my daily exercise late afternoon or at night as I find it’s a great way to round off the day. I enjoy going for a walk with my housemate around 6pm on a weekday, or slightly earlier at the weekend while it’s still light and the day is less structured. Going for a walk is a great way for me to wind down and clear my head.
When I get back from my daily walk I usually make a quick and easy tea. One of my go-to recipes is sausage and bacon pasta which takes about half an hour, including preparation time. In my house we like to bake and so for dessert I’ll usually have the thing we’ve baked that week – this week it was lemon cheesecake.
My day usually finishes around 10.30pm when I switch off by listening to music or watching a short video. Before going to sleep I listen to a well-being podcast called ‘Wake Up/Wind Down’ on Spotify which I first started listening to during the first lockdown.
Leave a Reply