Great: you live with your friends! That means there will always be socks you can borrow, there will always be someone to make you a cup of tea when you’re ill, and most importantly, you will never be lonely. But wait. It’s five weeks into term, and you have spent so much time chatting to your housemates that you are yet to open a book. Aren’t you at university to actually get some work done? Here’s my top tips to strike the balance between spending enough time with your friends and, sadly, enough time at your desk.
Ideally, live with people who do the same subject as you
This year, I am lucky enough to live in a house where all four of us study English. While this means we can make hilarious literary jokes over dinner, what it also means is that we understand each other’s working needs. All our deadlines are at the same time, so we are all working hard at the same time (and, importantly, all ready to go out and let off some steam at the same time). Last year, I lived with two accountants and a mathematician, who really struggled to understand that just because I only have lectures on Tuesdays does not mean I am not busy the rest of the time. It will make your life a lot easier if you’re all on the same academic wavelength.
That’s not always possible though, so…
Let your housemates know early on what your subject’s demands are
If you’ve ended up living with the housemate equivalent of the Lucky Dip bag on Ready Steady Cook as far as subjects are concerned, then all hope of doing well in your degree is not lost. Make sure you have any conversations that need to be had about deadlines or not disturbing you while you’re reading early on. Nothing is worse that passive aggression in a student house, so if you’ve got something to say, say it, and say it before you’ve spouted steam from your ears. That way, you’ll make it to June still very much in love with your housemates.
Make time for your housemates
At the end of the day, these are your friends. Of course you want to see them, and no one wants to be that housemate who spends their entire life holed up at their desk. So, at the moments when you’re not busy with work, instead of idly hanging out in your room on your own, wander across the landing and see if anyone else is free. Whether that means having a cup of tea in the kitchen of playing FIFA for an hour, if you’ve got time to kick back and relax, someone else in the house probably does as well.
Book big date, like birthdays, in advance
If it’s your housemate’s birthday a week before your biggest deadline, you can work around it as long as you plan in advance. Of course you don’t want to miss celebrating with them – and they’ll probably be upset if you do – so if you make sure that you’ve left enough time in your schedule, you really needn’t feel guilty about taking the night off. If you want to have a house party, either find a time when no one is particularly busy, or plan it well in advance. Easy.
Find a space where you can work
It’s always best to try and get a student house where every single bedroom has a decent-sized working space. If not, you’ll end up with someone working at the kitchen table, who ends up spending half an hour chatting every time someone else comes in for a cup of tea. If all else fails, go to the library.
Work a working day
This doesn’t work for everyone, but, as a war-weary old third year, I’ve found it works for me. Try and get up at a sensible time in the morning, and get working before 10. Personally I like to work in the library, but that’s just me. Work though until say, 6, and then you can come home, have some dinner, and chill out with your lovely housemates, feeling like you deserve it. Your friends are supposed to help you through the little stressful moments, rather than make them worse, and if you think about it, it can be really easily done.
Do you have any tips on how to balance studying and socialising at university? Let us know in the comments below!
Photo: CollegeDegrees360 / Flickr
English Literature at Exeter. Online Features Editor, Exeposé. Enjoys a decent mojito, and plays netball, badly.
Also a little obsessed with Virginia Woolf.
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