“New sem, new me” are the words we often say with zest as we begin a new semester in school. We set goals in hopes for the semester to be better than the last. But as the weeks pass, we slowly find ourselves swept under the currents of the overwhelming workload.
What are some little habits we can take to make the semester a better one? Jing Ting, an alumnus from Ngee Ann Polytechnic shares her experience of forming small habits that helped her do better in school!
I recall missing my first day of school because I had a panic attack while queueing for the shuttle bus to Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
Growing up, I have always been anxious about going to school for lessons. But as the years went by, I developed habits to help me cope with my anxieties and to be more prepared for school. I hope these habits of mine would be helpful for you too as you begin your new semester this year!
Prepare for classes the night before
I have the habit of downloading my school notes the night before on my laptop and I usually check my timetable and pack my bag before going to school.
Since I am aware of what content my lecturer will be going through in class, I can understand classes better, which made going to class less intimidating.
Personally, I think packing my keys, wallet, and earpiece the night before is extremely important as well. The feeling of forgetting something in the morning is horrible (especially when I cannot find my keys before leaving my house).
Pick out what to wear the night before
I used to think dressing up for school was too “try-hard”. However, I realised that when I dress sloppy for classes (especially morning classes), I tend to be less alert and extremely sleepy. Putting a little effort into dressing prepares my mind to get ready and be productive for the day.
I am not saying that we must dress fancy every day, but going to school in my sloppy cotton T-shirt, elephant pants and slippers caused me to feel even more sleepy and lethargic than I would if I took the effort to dress a little better.
Jing Ting in her comfortable cotton tee, elephant pants and slippers.
I used to study at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and I live in Pasir Ris. To be very honest, I would always wake up with just enough time to wash up and head to school. Thus, I never had much time to think about what to wear before going to classes.
I recall an incident where I had a presentation for an 8 am class. I told all my friends to wear long pants before going to sleep. However, when I woke up the next day, I was too sleepy, and I only remembered that I had to wear long pants.
Guess what? I wore my long Thai elephant pants to school. My friends and lecturer were dumbfounded when they saw me in my attire. I pleaded with the lecturer to rearrange the presentation.
Thankfully, my professor was very kind, and we got to present without any penalty on my attire. Hence, if you do not have much time to think about what to wear in the morning, do it the night before.
Journal your thoughts and feelings
As cliché as it might sound, I enjoy journaling my thoughts and feelings of the day because it reminds me that I was able to conquer my good and bad days.
This habit of writing things down allowed me to manage my emotions better since I am not good at talking to others about my struggles. With this outlet, I don’t find myself bottling up my feelings as often.
I believe most of us have times when we feel sad or stressed but when we want to talk to someone about it, we can’t find the words to say to express or describe what is hurting us.
When I attempt to write down my thoughts and feelings of my day, I give myself the time to process in my head what I am feeling and why I am feeling that way in words.
I feel less crazy when I do that and it also validates my feelings. Speaking from my experience, I would like to encourage you to give yourself the time to unwind each day, and to care for your mental health.
Please remember that you are precious, and your mental health is as important as your physical health!
Know when to call it quits
I used to get very stressed when I was trying to complete my coding projects. Debugging can get annoying, and I tend to rage at my laptop. The stress builds up and I tend to break down throughout the week.
I am so thankful for friends who would remind me to eat or to go for a walk with them when they know that I will be extremely stressed.
Today, I learnt to be kinder to myself and call it quits when I am too exhausted. I believe it is so important to pick my battles or fight again another day when I am in a better state of mind.
Final Words
At the end of the day, Polytechnic is another phase in life for us to enjoy, learn and grow. If we push ourselves to the point where we are constantly in pain, this journey would be a waste and all we would remember are days we are troubled over our studies.
Polytechnic is a phase, but your mental health is forever. May we learn to put ourselves first and create beautiful memories where we can look back and smile on 😊
