Wherever you are in your university journey, there are ways to make your life easier that you may never have considered. The following will help you become a better student, improve your health, and save you money.
1. A Recording Device
If your professors allow you to record lectures, you may find it helpful to purchase a recording device. Although this can be more effective than your phone, you should still sit in the front row, and you’ll need to avoid making noise to prevent interference. You can refer back to the recordings later, such as to improve your notes or to prepare for finals.
2. Study Groups
It’s worth joining a study group for each of your classes. These can be great opportunities to work with other students to talk about the material — just explaining concepts to someone else can help you solidify your knowledge.
However, it’s important to choose your study groups well. The last thing you want is for study time to turn into pure socializing. The people in your group should be just as motivated as you. Plus, you want to end each session with a better understanding of the material, rather than feeling like you spent the entire time helping someone else. It may take some searching to find study groups that meet your needs.
3. Coupons
The savings you gain from using coupons can quickly add up. Keep coupons for anything you may like to purchase and wait until you find a discount code before buying something you need that isn’t urgent. Finding offers is extra easy when you’re at university, as there are all sorts of discounts for students. In fact, you should try to buy mostly in stores that offer student discounts.
4. Enough Sleep
Sleep is crucial for your health and wellbeing, but it’s something university students often lack. Whether poor time-management skills mean you’re frequently pulling all-nighters or you don’t want to miss out on the excitement, you may quickly start operating on too few hours of sleep.
You can solve problems with time management with just a little self-discipline. Improve your scheduling and start working on assignments long before the due date. Always give yourself more time than you think you’ll need. Alternatively, if the issue is that you’re afraid something great will happen at a party after you’ve left to go to bed, stop and think about how likely this really is. In the worst case scenario, you’ll feel mildly disappointed, but you’ll have forgotten all about it a week or so later. It’s certainly not worth forgoing sleep on the off-chance something big occurs.
5. A Plan for Dealing with Illness
Sharing spaces with other people in your apartment, at classes, and during extracurriculars means that illness is often unavoidable. Plus, you can even suffer from a seasonal cold without being exposed to anyone who’s sick — if the virus is dormant in your body, it may flare up when you’re stressed or exhausted.
Since it can be difficult to avoid becoming sick entirely, you need to figure out how to deal with illness. One thing to do is promote a strong immune system. This means eating a balanced diet, exercising on a regular basis, and getting enough sleep. You should also receive your annual flu shot and wash your hands throughout the day to decrease your risk of becoming sick to the greatest extent possible.
One more thing you need is better housing than on-campus student residence. Ottawa students can improve their living experience by moving into THEO. As well as an apartment, you’ll have access to study spaces, a gym, a basketball court, and a hangout area. Book an onsite tour to check it out.