Being a student is easy if you’re organised, relaxed and enjoying your studies. However those three things don’t always come together, so to help balance them out you need a routine, and I try to keep a loose one. This Day in the Life will hopefully give you an idea of how I keep my head on at University.
Thankfully I don’t have many 9am’s this year, and so getting up early isn’t a necessity. It is something I like to do though, because there is something so relieving about getting stuff done before midday. Therefore I usually set my alarm for around about half 10 (perhaps there’s a few alarms to actually get me up), and the first thing I do is gaze at my phone. Now most people do this, but I reckon a Journo student uses their phone a little differently. This is because you are basically a slave to news and current affairs. Twitter is a good place to start, though you have to be following the right people. It’s a good news aggregator for me as I follow accounts like The Guardian and BBC News, as well as numerous journalists which keeps me updated on the opinion pools. After that I’m out of bed (maybe after another half an hour on my phone) and ready to embrace the cold dash to the shower.
The majority of my lectures aren’t until the afternoon, so usually I go up to the little Sainsbury’s to grab a paper and some lunch. Again, being a slave to news in the week I get an i paper every other day. This is a great daily paper, because it’s cheap (60p), pretty unbiased and is more of a news collator. It brings all different stories from around the world to a concise easy to read format, which means I can read it quickly and keep on top of what’s happening in the world. On the weekends I treat myself to an Observer because you get a whole bumper pack of stuff to read, and alongside the Guardian they are really respected newspaper. Once I’ve read, and eaten, it’s probably about time for a massive coffee so I don’t have an afternoon crash, then off to a lecture.
Ellison building is where most of my lectures take place, and I always try to go into them in a good frame of mind. I’ve noticed that if I go in eager to learn, they go by much quicker. I’m not a big note-taker, because I don’t really see the point in copying of the power-point slides. The notes I take are either something interesting or funny the lecturer said or something that I want to research more myself. My lectures are usually to the point and relaxing, meaning that they are a breezy part of my course. Seminars and workshops are the major part of a Media & Journalism course because it is very practical. Most weeks I have some form of workshop that is training on how to use certain equipment or software. My course is great because of the facilities on hand like the TV and radio studios, and these are places where I spend a lot of my time.
After the university bit of university is over it’s time to refuel with probably another massive coffee or some form of awful fast food. This is because the working hasn’t really begun yet. Your workload and time spent stressing about Uni is all down to how much you put into it. Being on top of your work is easy if you spend enough time in the library. There is something magical about the library where my work ethic is suddenly very strong and I get loads done in just a couple of hours. I like to go there in the evenings when it is not so busy, get comfortable, and get ahead of my work. By just doing this a couple of nights a week my stress levels drop dramatically and it means when I am out with friends I’m not worrying about work.
When it’s suddenly very dark outside, I decide to head back the flat. I’ll then cook myself something simple (I’m not greatest cook) whilst listening to a podcast. Podcast’s are something I’m obsessed with and there’s always constant talking in my room, as I never turn them off. If there’s no possibility of some form of social event (there often is, and often there is regret the next day) I settle in for the night. Film is my other obsession so my day usually finishes by watching one, then hopefully getting to sleep before 12.
