A lot of students, like myself, face the same problems every year, but I have found one problem to be particularly frustrating:
Time between lessons.
I recieved my college timetable at the end of January and I groaned when I saw I had two hours between lessons on a Monday. At the start of March, I've already had 4 Mondays to kill the space between lessons and the first one was agony because I had nothing to do!
Don't make the same mistake! Here are some things you can do between lesson time, and why I find them to be effective at passing time (or not!) and if they worked for me. In no particular order:
Internet Browsing
East Durham College, where I am based on a Monday, has many computers and iPads on offer, but when you have a mobile device that can connect to the Wifi, browsing the internet in EDC has never been easier. I own a Nokia Lumia that connects to the internet, so I have used this to pass the gap before. Unfortunately the internet is addictive. Sadly I find that spending too much time online can become quite a headache (literally and metaphorically speaking) so I do try to avoid this method, if I can. Having the wifi connection always there makes it extremely difficult to resist logging online to check Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Hotmail and other sites. I would advise you to avoid this method if you can, lest you face the wrath of the sight headache...
Go for a Walk
This method is a great way of getting to know your surroundings and the area where your education centre is placed. I took a walk recently and discovered a new part of Peterlee which I'd never seen before, and 2 hours was a great amount of time to do this in. Not only is it nice and refreshing, it is also very beneficial if you want to locate a nice spot you could escape to during this time. If you are in the city centre, you can probably find a very good walk in a nearby park, or if you're near the coast, why not head down to the beach every now and again. This method is a great way of passing time between lessons, whether you have 2 or 3 hours to spare, however, if you don't have a watch with you, you may end up losing track of time, resulting in you missing some lesson time, so I would advise against going very far away from where you're based if you can.
Read a Book
This is the method I find to be the best way of passing time bewteen lessons. I've finished many a novel quicker by reading during this time, and I have loved this method because it's very relaxing. There's nothing like finding a quiet spot to sit down and open up at where you left off. Sadly you may encounter a noisy bunch of people which doesn't enable you to read very well, however if you find a nice spot to escape to, as mentioned in the last paragraph, you can escape to this place and read as much as you like without interruption. You should also make sure you have a watch on so you can keep track of the time to ensure you aren't late at getting back.
Revision/Work
Probably the best use of time, but not my favourite, is to do your work. You're likely to get a lot of work to do whilst at college/university, and to avoid leaving the work until the evening, where you could be going to that party, or going to get drunk with your friends, do it during the day. That way you can keep your evenings free, and won't be stressing at midnight, that your assignment is unfinished. This is definitely very effective, providing you find a quiet spot to do this in. Of course if you need a computer, you can't avoid being in a noisy environment, but where possible, do try to find a quiet place. It'll help you to concentrate.
I have found that these methods of passing time are all really effective if you use them to your best advantage. I have also found that all these can have major consequences if you aren't careful. Another tip I recommend is to drink water at regular intervals whilst doing these activities (if you can call them that) because keeping hydrated is VERY important.
I hope you found this post useful and informative.
Time between lessons.
I recieved my college timetable at the end of January and I groaned when I saw I had two hours between lessons on a Monday. At the start of March, I've already had 4 Mondays to kill the space between lessons and the first one was agony because I had nothing to do!
Don't make the same mistake! Here are some things you can do between lesson time, and why I find them to be effective at passing time (or not!) and if they worked for me. In no particular order:
Internet Browsing
Go for a Walk
This method is a great way of getting to know your surroundings and the area where your education centre is placed. I took a walk recently and discovered a new part of Peterlee which I'd never seen before, and 2 hours was a great amount of time to do this in. Not only is it nice and refreshing, it is also very beneficial if you want to locate a nice spot you could escape to during this time. If you are in the city centre, you can probably find a very good walk in a nearby park, or if you're near the coast, why not head down to the beach every now and again. This method is a great way of passing time between lessons, whether you have 2 or 3 hours to spare, however, if you don't have a watch with you, you may end up losing track of time, resulting in you missing some lesson time, so I would advise against going very far away from where you're based if you can.Read a Book
This is the method I find to be the best way of passing time bewteen lessons. I've finished many a novel quicker by reading during this time, and I have loved this method because it's very relaxing. There's nothing like finding a quiet spot to sit down and open up at where you left off. Sadly you may encounter a noisy bunch of people which doesn't enable you to read very well, however if you find a nice spot to escape to, as mentioned in the last paragraph, you can escape to this place and read as much as you like without interruption. You should also make sure you have a watch on so you can keep track of the time to ensure you aren't late at getting back.
Revision/Work
Probably the best use of time, but not my favourite, is to do your work. You're likely to get a lot of work to do whilst at college/university, and to avoid leaving the work until the evening, where you could be going to that party, or going to get drunk with your friends, do it during the day. That way you can keep your evenings free, and won't be stressing at midnight, that your assignment is unfinished. This is definitely very effective, providing you find a quiet spot to do this in. Of course if you need a computer, you can't avoid being in a noisy environment, but where possible, do try to find a quiet place. It'll help you to concentrate.
I have found that these methods of passing time are all really effective if you use them to your best advantage. I have also found that all these can have major consequences if you aren't careful. Another tip I recommend is to drink water at regular intervals whilst doing these activities (if you can call them that) because keeping hydrated is VERY important.
I hope you found this post useful and informative.
