How to enjoy the Christmas season despite university stress

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Christmas spirit and productive studying do not have to be mutually exclusive (symbol image)

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Baking cookies and cozy evenings at the Christmas market: December could be so beautiful - if it wasn't for studying.

For many students, the Christmas season is particularly stressful.

Many professors go full throttle again at the turn of the year and pack the December lectures particularly full so that they remain in their curriculum.

In addition, the examination phase begins in January at many universities.

And at the end of the year, many deadlines for submissions for study papers and seminar papers expire.

In addition to drinking mulled wine and buying presents, there is more than enough to do in the Christmas student life.

So that you can make the best of this demanding phase and still enjoy the Christmas season, there are four useful tips behind your advent calendar door today.

1. Avoid chaos

Many students who seek my advice before the holidays are overwhelmed by the multiple workloads in December.

Between university events, learning sessions and private commitments, they lose track and let themselves be driven from appointment to appointment.

This creates stress.

As a first step, I recommend clearing up this mess and coming up with a clear plan for the rest of December:

• Which lectures, exercises, seminars are still to come?

• Are there any registration or submission deadlines?

• When are meetings with the study group planned?

• Which private or professional appointments are still waiting for you?

• Which to-dos do you definitely still have to do this year?

Record all appointments, deadlines and tasks at this point and collect them in a list or in your calendar.

Get an overview and thus control of your time back.

Only then can you make them productive and Christmassy.

2. Find a personal study-Christmas balance

There are people who love the Christmas season - and there are people who miss the Christmas season at the South Pole.

Either is fine;

however, you should know which side you are on and make a conscious decision on how much Christmas cheer you want in your life.

Actually clear, right?

Nevertheless, I keep meeting people who think they need to feel »Christmassy«, decorate their home and listen to kitschy songs.

Just because their family, friends and favorite influencers do too.

Quick reminder: You don't have to do anything.

Just because those around you are celebrating the holiday season doesn't mean you have to do the same.

There's nothing wrong with spending December as a self-confessed Grinch.

Whatever your preferences, your study program will be easier once you have your priorities straight.

Low percentage of Christmas: tough focus on your studies and no lying Christmas fuss;

high percentage of Christmas: see next tip.

3. Plan Christmas events

If you're more of a Christmas angel type, let me tell you: Christmas spirit and productive learning don't have to be contradictory.

With clever planning and a little creativity, these two areas can be perfectly combined.

A few ideas:

• Create a Christmas-themed learning environment: Decorate your room with some fairy lights, put out candles, and listen to quiet Christmas music while you study.

  Make sure, however, that your concentration does not suffer from the new impressions.

• Combine university appointments with Christmas events: are you in the lecture in the morning?

  Use the way back to buy gifts in town.

  Make a shopping list beforehand and be sure to limit your time so that your shopping trip doesn’t get out of hand.

• Or: Meet up with your fellow students to study in the library.

  When you have reached your learning goals, you will then treat yourself to a mulled wine at the Christmas market.

  Or two.

• Christmas Passive Learning: Some Christmas activities don't require you to be mentally alert.

  For example, you can watch lecture videos while rolling out the cookie dough.

more on the subject

• Four tips for more motivation: How to rekindle enthusiasm for your studiesBy Tim Reichel

• Making connections and filling knowledge gaps: Learning by heart, but correctly A column by Tim Reichel

4. Work with buffer times

When students draw up a plan, they sometimes take on too much.

They overload their days - and then go down with their to-do list.

Don't let this happen to you.

Especially when you have a lot to do, you should go slowly and concentrate on a few activities.

This sounds contradictory at first, but it's one of the best strategies for stressful times.

During the Christmas season I can recommend the use of buffer times.

These are blocks of time during the day that you reserve to react to the unforeseen or to absorb longer-lasting tasks.

These buffers help you stick to your schedule and keep your calendar clean.

If you don't need the buffer time, you can move a future task forward.

Or take a little break.

Conclusion

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Tim Reichel

Bachelor of Time: Time management during studies

Publisher: Studienscheiss

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Even if you have a lot to do and say goodbye to the Christmas holidays with a learning deficit, I recommend not studying at least on the Christmas days and relaxing instead.

This has two major advantages: First, you will use the pre-Christmas period more productively if you set yourself a deadline for Christmas.

Secondly, a break without university stress is just the right thing to catch your breath and recharge your batteries after the year-end sprint.

Many challenges are waiting for you in the new year - and your energy stores should be full for that.

A few days of rest won't hurt you, on the contrary, because afterwards you can focus on your studies fresh and confident.