Monthly Archives: February 2018

Homesickness and how to deal with it

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by Anna (Student Blogger: BA Hons French and Linguistics)

Homesickness is a real thing, and it is in fact completely natural. Although it’s most associated with first term and freshers, second term is when it hits the hardest; those post-Christmas blues rolled together with upcoming deadlines can leave you craving not only your bed at home, but time with your loved ones. The important thing is to not get too bogged down by it, so how can we all deal with it without letting it affect our studies too much?

  1. Keep in contact with home, but not too often. A weekly or fortnightly call (whether via video or not) is reasonable but every day could be just a little too much. You could end up missing out on crucial bonding time with your flatmates, or the chance at making new friends at a society. The difficulty with how often you keep in contact can be down to certain family members, and wanting to please them. But politely, and kindly, remind them that you’re never going to have this experience again. And, you won’t have any stories to tell them if you’re spending all your time in your room on the phone.
  2. Tell people about it. Sometimes we think how we’re feeling is super-obvious to others, and other times we hide our emotions. But it’s as simple as saying “I miss home” to someone you’re close to at university. A problem shared, a problem halved. More than likely, you’re not the only one. If missing home is getting to you enough to affect your studies, seek some advice from your college’s Wellbeing Team. And, don’t forget to let your tutors know.
  3. Societies. Joining in with campus life through societies, whether academic or not, will fill up the time you spend missing home. It’s also a great way to make new friends across university.
  4. Create a comforting personal space. Your bedroom, whether on campus or in town, is entirely your space. Personalising it to your taste will make it feel homely, and perhaps have a few items from home that are nice reminders for when you’re feeling rubbish.
  5. Accept it. Homesickness is part and parcel of moving away from home. It’s simply a side-effect. Accepting this fact is a sure-fire way to start dealing with it better. And remember, everyone experiences homesickness at some time in their life, don’t add to the issue by giving yourself a hard time.
  6. Visit home. Perhaps take a weekend to visit home as this can remind you that everyone is still there for you, and loves you. Sometimes we just need a gentle reminder. If this would make you miss home even more, you could ask for your family or friends from back home to visit you for a weekend, then you’ll still have contact with them but in your new environment.

 

Taking on board these recommendations will help you better deal with your homesickness, and soon enough you’ll be right as rain and feel settled in Lancaster. University seems to fly by, so make the most of it every day!

Getting the most out of your term

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by Ruth (Student Blogger: BA Hons History)

If you’re anything like me you’re looking at the next term, still wondering about where did the first term go?

Those short ten weeks seemed to fly by, with nothing more to show afterwards than a handful of paper, potentially a few grades and enough Sugar stories and hangovers to last a lifetime.

As a result, you might be left asking the question, what did I do with my first term?

But don’t panic, this happens to everybody. Feeling as if life at university has gone by so fast there’s nothing really to show or tell anyone if they ask you what you did that term. So, even if it’s your 1st year or in your final year there’s always time to try and branch out to experience new things in order to feel like you’re making the most out of your time at uni.

  1. Find Societies

Being at university is a perfect time to try experimenting with different interests, meeting new people and experiencing a variety of cultures. And this can all be done with societies. Freshers and Refreshers fair at the beginning of the first and second terms are a great way to see the wide-range of societies there are at university. But also, if that is completely overwhelming or if there’s no freshers fair on, you can have a look yourself, either through posters or adverts on Facebook. In fact, the society I’m now running, I found from a post on Facebook and just went along to the meetings from there. Joining societies is a perfect way to feel like you’ve got something out of the term, looking back on experiences and changes you made by being part of that community filled with like-minded individuals.

  1. Taking breaks from work!

Many people feel like they didn’t get the most out of their terms because they were focused so much on work. Now although this can be good and beneficial, there’s a chance that by being so focused, you miss out on the other key parts of university life. (And working non-stop potentially has the risk of burning yourself out). Therefore, life is all about balance, especially with work and relaxing. So, start to factor in breaks when you are doing work, so you don’t feel like you’re working constantly. Use those breaks as a time to branch out. Or even, use them to explore your surroundings. Many of us are new or don’t live in Lancaster so go out and explore more of the city and surroundings.

I hope this helps you to have a few ideas of where to make any changes if you feel you aren’t getting the most out of your term. Forcing yourself out of your comfort zone is a great skill to gain and practice while at university. Especially as taking breaks from work will give you a fresh perspective and crucial time to relax.

How to take feedback like a pro

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by Sara (Student Blogger: BA Hons Linguistics)

It is sadly true that the jump from A-level to university is a considerable one but it is also true, thankfully, that you don’t have to be an Olympian to land successfully on the other side. In my opinion, some jumps from GCSE to A-level have been bigger than this, for example when studying languages, and at the end of the day if you’ve got this far you can go a little further am I right? Getting back your first essays can be daunting because you’ve been well informed of this increase in expectations but fear not for I have compiled some top tips for keeping calm as you walk down that dimly lit corridor to pick up an assignment.

  1. Put it in perspective. Obviously, you should always try your best but there is also no point stressing about a grade that is only a small fraction of the overall mark at the end of the year. If you must worry, worry in proportion. If you smashed a module you really enjoyed but didn’t do amazingly on one you hated, things will balance out. No one is amazing at everything and no one is interested by everything. Go easy on yourself; someone may have really struggled with an essay you succeeded with.
  2. Don’t throw it away. When you get an essay back with a whole page of feedback on the front, you may not realise it but you are more fortunate than others. Some departments aren’t great at giving feedback that is helpful enough or enough full stop. If your tutor has taken the time to look at your work and has done a thorough evaluation, you shouldn’t waste that effort. Have an allocated place for noting down the things you did well and the things you’ve been told to improve on. This will be incredibly useful when settling down to start your next essay if it requires similar skills to the first.
  3. Some things are an easy fix. If you receive several paragraphs of feedback and a lot of it is negative, think about how much time it would take to correct those mistakes. Marks can go down for obvious structural points like page numbers, labelling tables and charts and your headings being correctly numbered as well as forgetting the date for that reference that you were going to ‘just put in later’. We all know that when later actually comes, you’re sat in front of Netflix with a Pot Noodle, sending the essay off without a proper proof read, hoping it’ll be okay. Spend an extra five minutes at the end of your next essay with a checklist in hand, featuring those little things, and skim the essay checking one feature at a time on each read through. The marks are in the details.
  4. And finally, there’s more to life than assignments…. because you also have exams! Just kidding. Don’t let your academic work become the sole purpose of your existence. University is not just about the grades you get. A poor grade won’t seem quite so bad after a night in with a pot of chocolate fondue and good friends.

To conclude, in conclusion and overall, try your best but you’re at your best when grades, essays and deadlines are put into perspective. Always be looking to improve on the next assessment based on the feedback you’ve been given and the time you take acknowledging the feedback will be worth it.

 

5 ways to boost your productivity

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by Catherine (Student Blogger: BSc Computer Science)

Energy drinks didn’t make the cut. We are well into second term and you may have found that motivating yourself to work is difficult. Don’t panic. This is normal. At University, we can often feel torn between studies, leisure, developing skills, and socialising. Here are my tips for boosting your productivity.

Go Exploring

Going for a walk may seem like a waste of time when you have things to do, but it can help you to recollect your thoughts and focus on the task.

If you live on campus, try walking to an area of campus you’ve never visited before, or around the field at the front of university. If you have the time, take a relaxing walk along the nature trail.

If you live in town, you could walk along the canal and try to spot the swans. Another possibility is to grab a coffee at the train station. Relaxing in an environment focused on schedules, surrounded by a rush of people, can offer motivation in a unique manner.

Use a Daily Planner

Buy a planner and write a list of tasks to complete each day.

Ticking off each task will feel like an achievement, and you won’t forget any important meetings or deadlines. You don’t need to plan each day down to the hour, and you can leave one day a week free to relax and catch up on any tasks you didn’t get the chance to complete.

Don’t Base Your Social Life on Alcohol

Whether you’re heading to the pub or on a night out, drinking alcohol can help you to relax after a stressful week. However, it can leave us with nasty hangovers, which will make getting any work done a problem. It is important to have a good balance of social activities, especially when you have many deadlines and can’t afford to take a morning off to recover.

You and your friends could take turns each night for a week to cook a meal for the group and vote for the best dish, or if you have different interests you could try out each other’s favourite hobby. If you have similar hobbies, you could try out a society together.

Research Careers

Some people may already know what career they would like to pursue, whereas others may not be so sure. Spend some time researching what you may like to do, and which path can take you there.

Are there graduate schemes available in your field? Would you like to work for a small company or a worldwide brand? Researching where you are going and how you will get there can help you to focus on your studies and hone in on the skills essential for what you want to do.

The Lancaster Award

The Lancaster Award rewards students who take part in extra-curricular activities. You will be developing career-focused skills, and reflecting on this process. It involves becoming more involved in University activities as well as possibly starting volunteer work or getting a part-time job. The Careers service also offer numerous skill workshops, which you can browse and book on TargetConnect.

The Lancaster Award can motivate you to seek new opportunities and use your free time effectively.

Futhermore, as with researching careers, looking towards your prospects and working towards your career goals can help you to feel more productive and strive for the best in all that you do.