As you can imagine, a break is a much-needed time investment for college students, and coming back from a long break such as winter break is hard. Here is what I am doing to get back into the swing of things:

1. Fix that sleep schedule
   I don’t think I have even slept in as much as I have this past winter break. These past few weeks were the first I was free from class, my college and hometown job, studying for exams, applying to graduate schools, etc. I have always had something to get up for and work on, but recently I have been just going with the flow of getting up whenever to spend time with friends and family. However, coming back to school I have an 8 am class… on Monday. Normally this isn’t a problem for me since I am an early bird at heart, but since I have not been recently, the week before school as I go back to Iowa City, I am planning on getting up as early as I would for class and give myself a series of tasks to do so I don’t feel the urge to go back to sleep. From reading, working out, cleaning my room, doing laundry, and more, I will be using these things to fill in for the time of my early classes to get my day started in preparation for going back to school.
2. Practice doing something that could be boring
   Let’s face it, classes, even the ones for your major, are not ALWAYS interesting. I have a stack of books on my to-be-read list and I will be working my way through them before class starts to just keep in the habit of reading.
3. Start the year off with a clean room
   Chances are you are not showing back up to Iowa City on the first day of the spring semester. Take the extra day or two that you are back early to refresh your living space. Not only is this use of time productive, but you have to clean at some point so you might as well not push it off until you are supposed to be studying for an exam.
4. Use and write in a planner
   I love giving myself time to go to the gym, schedule dinner with friends, and have purposeful study time. While I am getting used to a new class schedule, having even little things like this put in a planner will help me organize my time until a routine becomes normal again.
5. Meal prep
   Going to the grocery store or cooking is the last thing you probably want to do when you are hoping to catch up with your friends. Getting this done and out of the way by meal prepping will maximize your free time later in the week so you will have plenty of time to hang out with friends while adjusting to a new schedule.