Hooray! You've Made It Through Induction Week

Congratulations to everybody who made it through induction week. I wish you every success in your studies.

Induction week is a stressful time for some students. Some have moved countries, cities, careers and identities in order to study.

I have been speaking with quite a few students over the last week and noticed a few themes that may help you to reduce any test anxiety and stress. Test anxiety I hear you say? We haven't even started lectures yet. I know, and yet so many students in their first week are worrying about how they will cope with the workload in year 3.

Coping Strategies

1. Be aware of the outcomes you're looking for in this semester and break those down into mini projects. Don't worry about year 3, focus on what you want to achieve this semester.
   
2. Draw up a weekly timetable. Colour code it for each distinct activity such as lectures, pre-reading, revising, exercise, relaxation time etc. By allocating time and ensuring you build rest and recreation into your timetable you will be able to work with your body to manage your stress. All to often when the deadlines emerge, those necessities for staying stress-free get forgotten about. Make exercise and rest-time a priority.
   
3. List all your deadlines on a wall planner. This helps you spot in an instant busy times so that you can plan your workload around them.
   

Over the next few weeks we will look at study skills and learning styles so that you can get the most out of university life without getting too stressed.