Productivity and the Easter break

The Easter break is the perfect mid-semester break to recharge your batteries and maybe get some work done. A whole month off of my usual timetable is nothing to complain about, and I’ve already gone home to Norway for some much needed time relaxing with my family.

However, since the Easter holiday here in Norway is only until Tuesday next week and most of my friends here have their exams, I’m not going to stay for the whole month. The plan is to get some serious work done in April when I’m back in Southampton, so fingers crossed I will actually follow through.

In the meantime, while most Norwegians have retreated from the cities and up to the mountains, I’m here in sunny Oslo enjoying some gorgeous sunsets

I was lucky enough to get to spend a couple of hours with my best friend before she went back to university in USA!

Now I’m here wondering how I should spend the two next weeks. The thought of not doing any university work is tempting, but not so likely. It’s a strange feeling going into Easter break after such an intense work-period before Easter and now there’s suddenly a month until my next deadline. What’s the best way to keep the motivation up for this month?

Without claiming that I know the best answer to this, I think the best way is to have a proper week off without any work. Did someone say binge-watching Netflix? Yes! The best part about that is, that even with a proper week off there are still three weeks left of the break, which means you can spread the workload.

A good start is to make a plan on what you want to have finished over Easter and what coursework you want to have started. If you make a realistic plan imagine how nice it will be after Easter when you are ahead on the deadlines. To me, the thought of being ahead for the next term is motivation enough to work over Easter.

How to get there is up to you. It could mean working a little bit every day or simply putting aside two or three days per week just for work. It’s also a question of defining work. ‘Work’ could mean catching up on the reading you should have done, starting that essay or coursework or simply just taking notes from the lectures you missed before Easter. Either way, without sounding like your mum – not doing any work over Easter is bad idea no matter how you put it.

Make a plan, but also remember to enjoy the holiday.

Other than that, I hope you have a productive and, most importantly, relaxing and refreshing break!

Alexandra