This article aims at providing 14 tips on how to make the best use of your holiday.
Wondering how to make the best use of your next holiday? We have your back.
All work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy and yes I added “very”. Imagine if you have to go to classes every day of the year including weekends. That would be rather disastrous to your health, academic performance, emotional and social life. After all, you were not sent to this world for school alone and just less than 20 years of your life are spent in the classroom. What happens to the rest? Holidays are intentionally given for students to refresh and take care of other important areas of their lives. Workers also have their weekends, off days and live to refresh themselves.
However, we have discovered that students do not actually make the most of this period. There is a misconception that holidays for students are restful periods for just sleeping, watching movies and catching up with friends. Even though these activities are not entirely bad, there are ideas we would suggest in this article that would help you make the most of your holiday periods, whether long or short breaks.
TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE THE BEST USE OF YOUR HOLIDAY
1. Reflect on your past performances
Holidays are great opportunities to reflect on your performance and activities for the last semester. Review the areas you did better- academics, social, extra-curricular activities and emotional areas of your life- and set new goals for erring areas pending the coming semester. You must be sincere as possible, so achieve the aim after all. Since, you might see your previous school result before resumption, use that as a benchmark to sincerely rate yourself and make realistic plans to do better.
2. Watch Educational programmes
In school, you barely have time to see educational movies or YouTube videos and other programmes and even if you did, you might have seen it seldom. The holiday is a great time to watch educational videos, documentaries and other programmes that would boost your knowledge on areas you are interested in. Watching the news is not a bad idea during the holidays, in fact, technology has even made this possible right with your cell phone. A well-informed citizen would make better decisions. Technology has made these programmes on-demand, so you do not have to wait for a particular time to watch them on your television.
3. Internship Positions
There are some schools that take as long as four months break at the end of the session. Seeing movies and even your favourite programmes for four months can be very boring. You can get a job. There are various internship positions for undergraduates in different sectors, look for one that is in line with your course of study. And do not be worried about the pay, because what you are after at this point is the professional experience which is an edge for you when you are about to begin your search for jobs. The best learning experience might just come in the form of an unpaid job or internship. Take a job for what you will learn, not for what you will earn. There are numerous websites that provide updates on job and internship positions for students. Organizations would be glad to have interns because it would reduce the workload, which is an advantage for you. Imagine writing and editing editorial pieces before you get out of the university.
4. Learn a new language
You can also learn a new language. Learning new languages broadens your mind and enhances your listening skills and memory. Further study of a foreign language improves your knowledge of your own local language. It is also a competitive edge in your career because there are jobs that require you to communicate in multiple languages. If you have plans to further your studies in other countries, an additional language is a cutting edge. Popular foreign languages you can learn are Spanish, French, German, Chinese languages etc. in fact courses like Communication, Law, International law and diplomacy, international relations should take extra language classes.
5. Engage Community Service
Find a cause you care about or join a non-governmental organization whose objectives tally with yours. Find a practical way to serve and contribute. You could volunteer to clean up the beach, help out at a nursing home or animal shelter, or deliver meals to the elderly. The school holidays are a good time to give back. Find a cause you care about and start thinking of ways to support that cause. There is a number of non-governmental organizations that seek for volunteers, look for one around your area and fix yourself. Your activities at the NGO can be added to boost your CV. As a fresh graduate with no job experience, this can translate into one.
6. Your physical health
You should improve your physical health during your holidays. You have more time during the school holidays to eat the right meals, go for exercise, sleep well and build relationships with friends and families. Your physical health is a major determinant of how well you would perform in school, you should take care of it. A morning walk around your neighbourhood, everyday fruit intake (variety or in the form of smoothies), a bottle of water every morning, proper sleep would go a long away. A student with constant headache or malaria cannot perform well.
7. Learn a skill
Learn a new skill like…Public speaking, Cooking, Drawing, Self-defense, Negotiation, Listening, Positive thinking. There are vocational schools, online schools for this cause. Most of these schools are self-paced, so, that means you can learn whenever you find it convenient for you. Further, YouTube is another veritable tool. You can subscribe to a channel that provides lessons on how to make different dishes, all you have to do is get the necessary equipment to learn. But, if do not like virtual classes, vocational schools would go you a lot of good. You mix with people and that would build your network too.
8. Read and learn beyond your scope
Your holidays should also be spent reading extensively on other interesting areas and taking relevant online courses. There are countless free ebooks on various topics for your consummation. Choose your area of interest and download as much as you can. There are also thousands of online courses to choose from on Coursera, edx, and Udemy. And they are free in case the financial aspects are always a barrier for you. Since students’ success in school and life is linked to the size of their vocabulary, this would help.
9. Visit a museum
A trip to a museum is not a bad idea either. You would become more knowledgeable on certain subjects regarding your country and you’ll probably leave feeling inspired too. Ideas about a business can even emanate from your visit to places like this.
10. Start a business
You do not have to wait until you are out of school before you start a business. Majority of the small business came to the fore from students who were tired of staying home doing nothing during their long vacations. You could start something small like coaching younger students, retail, and babysitting business. Or you could think in areas like app development, online advertising, fashion design and hair products.
11. Pick a new hobby
Pick up a new hobby. You will probably feel bored at some point during the school holidays. That’s the time to pick up a new hobby like…Juggling, Gardening, Playing the ukulele, Dancing, Photography and Stargazing. These can even translate into a money machine for you. You also get to understand yourself as you apply your senses, time and skills to them.
12. Improve your writing skills
Writing skills are important for academic success, and they’re even more important for career success. So work on your writing skills this school holiday. Read excellent articles on how to improve your writing skills, there are a lot of free online courses to improve your writing skills. There is an article on top free online courses to improve your skills on this website. As a university student, you must write a thesis, your writing skills would come to play here, so learn how to write intelligently, convincingly and coherently without having to copy others.
13. Build your network
You should also reconnect with friends and family members whom you didn’t get to spend much time during the school term. At the very least, send them a text or email to show them that you’re thinking of them. Your network is a great asset to you now and in the future. Many have gotten jobs as a result of their network of friends who had an upper hand than they. You can attend summits and other youth programmes that bring young minds together to share ideas.
14. Get a mentor
As you grow professionally, you would need to be accountable to a mentor; a good mentor will help you become more self-aware, make better decisions, and find long-term success. Your holiday can be used to find a mentor that shares your dream.
In conclusion, make the most use of your time during your break by being productive during your break; you might not have the time after school.
