Your finals are finally over. Ah, freedom. Time to relax after a gruelling semester. After all, you deserve it! But besides catching the latest movies, travelling with your friends, finding a job, or even getting yourself back into shape, here are a few other activities that you can do to have a fruitful school break.
Embark On A Personal Project
It could be a creative project such as blogging, sewing, writing songs/poems or even gardening! You could listen to The Perfectionism Project Episode 98 to know the power of daily creativity.
It could also be projects that could contribute to your portfolio. For example, if you are an aspiring graphic designer, you can brush up on your graphic design skills and showcase your work on your personal website. If you are interested in data analytics, you can look up videos and tutorials on how to use common data visualisation tools such as Tableau and use open data sources such as data.gov.sg to derive insights and display your work on a dashboard. These will come in handy for job interviews. Imagine impressing the hiring manager by your initiatives to start your own projects!
Carve Out Some Me-Time
Indulge in your favourite hobby. This is so important for you to recharge and reflect on your goals. You could use this time to journal, write affirmations, read a book, listen to music or even meditate! Take care of yourself during this time and you will be ready to tackle the next obstacle coming your way!
Organise Your Room
Clear out all your past notes, books and materials that you aren’t using anymore. Give away, donate or re-sell textbooks that you no longer need. Put the items that you still want to keep into one place. Wipe down your desk and ensure the things on it have a purpose. That one receipt that has been lying there since the start of the semester? You won’t miss it.
Settle Your Life Admin
Schedule your appointments. Health check-ups, a visit to the optician to get a new pair of glasses as well as the long overdue one to the dentist.
Take note of upcoming events such as Mother’s Day and birthdays so that you can have ample time to do gift shopping and come to the party prepared.
Check that your financial accounts are in order. Review your budget, your monthly transactions and see where you can stop renewing your subscriptions to the things you don’t use anymore.
Back up your important data from your phone and laptop. A few precious notes and completed projects can come in handy in the future.
Plan Your Dream Vacation
Always wanted to go to Paris? Or that resort by the coast? It’s time to do a little research and do up an itinerary! Read travel guidebooks, blogs, articles and watch YouTube videos for recommendations on your dream destination. It can still be fun to read about a place you went to. And who knows, you might be at your dream destination sooner than you think.
Learn A New Skill
Pick up a skill that interests you. It can be a new language, dialect, programming language, video editing skill, playing a new musical instrument…the list goes on! But do not be disheartened if you fail or find it very hard to master them. Everyone was once a novice and practice makes perfect. Remember, the path to success is not linear. There will be ups and downs but as long as you are taking action, you are progressing and moving forward.
Go on Nature Walks
Surround yourself with nature regularly. Sure, you could go hiking at MacRitche reservoir, climb Bukit Timah hill or even enjoy the view at the Henderson Waves, if you are up for it. But if you’re not the full-on nature-hiker type, there are still alternatives. Whether it be taking a light stroll at the neighbourhood park, cycling along the park connector or roller blading around the canal, there is always a green corner for you to be in. Singapore is a garden city after all, right? Besides, it is also a great way to bond with yourself, your friends and family.
Volunteer
Nothing beats that feeling you get when you know you have made someone’s day or contributed to an initiative to help others. You could also take part in your school’s summer events such as helping to plan and execute activities for the upcoming freshmen camps. I was part of the organising committee and a facilitator for a camp and it was truly a fun experience.
Lastly, Focus On Accomplishing One Thing At A Time
Yes, it can get overwhelming. Trust me, I know it all too well. You want to do this, you want to do that, you want to complete everything on your never-ending post-exam activities list but you don’t know where to start. Plus, you only have what, 3 months? It isn’t a lot of time and you start to get anxious and end up mindlessly browsing the Internet at 3am everyday. After I listened to this podcast episode, I learnt that pursuing multiple goals at once is actually detrimental and self-sabotaging, no matter what my initial intentions were. Focusing on a single thing at a time allows you to ensure that you are not only able to follow through, but you also avoid burning out and creating unnecessary stress. Ironically, focusing on one thing at a time allows you to accomplish more overtime compared to if your energy was spread among a few at any one time.
So if you ever feel bored during the holidays and wonder how you spend it well, pick an activity above! Do you know of any other unusual but productive activities to do during the holidays?
