Working hard or hardly working?

As the year's closing months consume us in an embrace of early nights and winter festivities, students are met with a new challenge. Exams. At Christmas!

Can you hear the carols? Smell the mince pies? The mulled wine? Hear the laughter, feel the joy, the ease? What about the stress? The constant demands of uni lingering?

Our bodies are conflicted in a tormenting tug of deadline pressure, revision and late nights in the IC all while the calls of Christmas are ringing out- a hearty and merry sound as the stress and cramming takes over.

The idea of relaxing, carefree and cosy, by a fresh spruce tree all done up is merely a dream for us. As the needles drop the anxiety amplifies. Quickly. Everything feels urgent, the counting down of days used to be fun. Find the number, open the door, and taste the chocolate. Now it feels like a jeering puzzle- a countdown to exams and deadlines. We are ramping up, not down. Thankfully, there's a rowdy crowd of lights, songs and fantasies of magic to relieve the pain of another essay. They stack like presents under that tree, accumulating to garnish the overload of work.

It may feel unrelenting, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. As you work towards a degree, you can find pride and comfort in the knowledge that you get to experience both education and homely festivities and comfort. Relief knowing that you don't have to take allocated days off from university to enjoy the festivities. It's all about finding a steady routine thay works for you.

Practice papers and Christmas crackers who would’ve thought?

Balance is possible, even at such a contradictory time of year. For a daily balance, you can set aside the morning, dedicate it to uni, and allow for the rest of the day to feel a little brighter, a little lighter. Or you can set aside days to make the move to your local library. How about catching up with a friend you haven't seen since the summer for a gingerbread latte and flashcards?

In a room full of pressing questions of “how’s uni? Are you working?” You can be calm in the knowledge of your organisation. And when the classic advice gets broadcast across the table, “study hard, play harder”-the turkey would wake to roll its eyes if it could- you can feel assured that you have.

Be flexible with your study plan, have a priorities list for both your studying and for all the social events you just cannot miss. Feel the fomo subsiding? Maybe “I’m studying” is a more handy evasion from ‘That Auntie’ than you realised. Fomo (fear of missing out) turns to ‘know- ho’- that's knowledge crossed with ho, ho, ho!

You will be thankful when January rolls around, the time you set aside will be well worth it!