The Graduates guide to surviving final year

1.    Whatever you do, don’t leave all your work to the last minute…learn from my mistakes, folks. Your final semester is stressful/emotional enough without having to pull all-nighters to finish your dissertation or important essays. Be organised and it will pay off. INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE ALERT “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail”

2.    Be in touch with your advisors and tutors…it’s literally their job to help you. They get paid to be available to you during this stressful time. Pick their brain, ask their advice, and send them drafts. They are such an important resource. (Your friends will thank you for not badgering them about obscure literature they literally have no clue about.)

3.    Take regular dance breaks…frequently dance around your kitchen pretending you’re Stevie Nicks (this one is secretly the most important)

4.   Organise your time…make a realistic schedule that includes all aspects of your life…classes, library time, research, writing up, reading, social time, relax time.

5.    Stick to it…this is a biggy. There’s literally no point in making a schedule you can’t live up to. You know yourself and your weaknesses, when you work best and how much you can fit into a week, so work your schedule around you and you’ll be way more likely to stick to it.

6.    Go outside…or you will go insane. Before my dissertation I didn’t know cabin fever was a real thing other than a creepy movie. It’s so easy to go from your house to the bus to class to the library every day. Try getting off the bus a stop early, or taking a 10 minute study break to walk around the block. You will feel like a human again.

7.    Exercise…not only does this keep you healthy, it reduces stress and is gives you some thinking time. TRIPLE THREAT.

8.    Ignore everyone else…not literally. But don’t let anyone make you feel like you’re doing a shitty job or you’re doing it wrong. Everyone works at their own pace and it doesn’t mean anyone is better than you or vice versa.

9.    Flowers…fill your house with flowers and plants and general reminders of the outside world.

10. Find your productivity music...when it came to writing the hell out of my dissertation, my kings were Biggy and Bob Marley. My brain often surprises me with gems like this.