Unfortunately, the time has come where winter break has melted away and been replaced by a new spring semester. Although the month-long vacation was much needed and well-deserved, many of us have acquired some new habits. While these may have served us well during break, such routines are sure to ruin our GPA before you can say “go Bears.” At the Clog, we feel we have a responsibility to point out some of these habits to ensure you’re set up for success from the start.
Sleeping in
We think it’s pretty fair to say that sleeping schedules were the first to be thrown out of the window over break. The first day off, you may have just collapsed into a bundle and slept for 13 hours. On the other hand, you could have gone out and partied until the sun came up. Either way, this set the precedent for the rest of winter break. Every day was different — one night you only slept two hours, the next you woke up at 3 p.m. If this unpredictable behavior continues during the next few months, you might as well skip the semester and join Oski in hibernation. Not only will you miss your classes, but you’ll probably just fall asleep in the ones you do end up making it to. It’s time to turn on your alarm clock and ditch your beauty sleep (it doesn’t look like it has been working anyways).
Spending all your money
While the holiday spirit and family surrounds us during vacation, one victim is quietly taken and slowly drained by winter break until the only thing that remains is a hollow shell: your bank account. On top of all the gifts you had to buy, you spent every night out with friends, dropping money left and right like Chancellor Dirks building a new fence. And half the time, upon returning home, you don’t even know what caused your bank account to be severed in half. Now that you’re back at UC Berkeley, though, it’s time to once again hold true to the broke college student mantra. Restrain yourself from spending $30 on a meal out and fill your soul up once again with ramen packets from Walmart.
Neglecting responsibility
On the last day of fall semester, you closed your notebooks and put your brain in cruise control for a month. The only thing you had to focus on was what Netflix show to binge watch next. Forget about any internships, jobs, or graduate schools you need to look for. That’s the future’s problem. Well, that was the past and the future is now. Face your responsibilities instead of putting them off any longer. If you don’t, they will only build up into a mountain of anxiety that will avalanche on you later.
Now that we have pointed out some habits that are sure to bring you down this semester, tackle them head on. Get organized and make goals. This will leave you prepared and confident for the rest of the semester (or at least until midterms).
