Five Productive Ways to Spend the School Holidays

1) Take Time For You

By taking time to care for your mental and physical wellbeing, self-care helps you stay focused, rejuvenated and stress-free. Importantly, it also helps stave off the dreaded burn out!

• Take time out in nature: Being in nature is scientifically shown to lower stress hormones, reduce mental fatigue, and increase emotional well-being, including boosting the serotonin in our brain.
• Read a book: Curl up on the couch, in bed or a comfortable nook with a great book.
• Pamper yourself: Light a candle, have a relaxing bath or meditate.
• Have a digital detox: Turn off your phone, disconnect the WIFI and spend a day totally unplugged.

2) Take Advantage Of The AM Hours

Texas University found in a recent study that the students who got up earlier got higher grades and performed better on tests than students who slept in.

Having more time to focus on important tasks while the rest of the world is asleep translates to fewer interruptions. If you can manage to get out of bed early, you’ll find that you have more energy throughout the day. It seems counterintuitive, but there are countless testimonials.

3) De-clutter Your Bedroom to De-clutter Your Mind

While we may not always realise it, when we’re in the midst of it, clutter can have a really negative impact on our lives.

Most of us want our bedrooms to be a sanctuary we can retreat to and relax in. But, a cluttered room makes rest and relaxation difficult. Not only are you bombarded and distracted by visual clutter, distractions and “stuff” all the time, but too much stuff to deal with can also make you feel like your to-do list is never-ending.

 

Step 1: Sort your items into three piles

Use the ‘three-box method’ to help you decide what items to keep, toss or put into storage. For any items in the keep box, work out where you are going to put them. These should be stored neatly in a draw or container. For storage, categorise and label all containers as you fill them. Then neatly place them in your storage area.

When getting rid of your items, sort through the ‘toss’ box and work out what you can donate, sell or throw away.

Step 2: Tackle the wardrobe and chest of drawers

Go through your clothes and be ruthless about what you don’t wear. Any clothes that no longer fit or haven’t been worn in the past year can go, which will help free up more space in the bedroom. Either donate to charity if in good condition, or throw away if in poor condition.

Step 3: Pack away out-of-season clothes

Summer is fast approaching! Pack away the Winter clothes and accessories that you will not need in Summer.

More tips on Beyond Blue’s website.

4) Watch a Documentary

Documentaries keep your brain active by giving your mind new information to absorb and think about. They can also give you insight into different places and lifestyles, providing you with greater perspective outside of your own experiences.

5) Set Goals For Next Term

Edward Locke and Gary Latham (1990) are leaders in goal-setting theory and according to their research, goals not only affect behaviour and work/school performance, but they also help mobilise energy which leads to a higher effort overall. Higher effort leads to an increase in persistent effort.