Finding the balance: 5 things that will make your Lancaster Uni life easier!

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By Navesh (Student Blogger: MSc Business Analytics)

Haven’t eaten a proper meal in days? Don’t have a plan on how to write that 3000-word essay? Feel overwhelmed? If you have answered “yes” to any of these questions – you may want to try out some of my “Lancaster Uni hacks!”

With coursework deadlines and the daunting task of settling back into the Uni life again after the holidays, even the simplest things, like eating, look like impossible tasks. But with some smart planning and help from your friends, you can make the dreary long and rainy nights of winter cheerful and productive.

It is important to understand what is holding you back from achieving your full potential and work on them. Here are 5 tips that just might do the trick!

  1. Sunshine! – It has been proven in various studies that sunshine helps you feel better (check out Healthline’s report). There are quite a few places in the Uni where you get bright sunshine. The Duck pond near PG Statistics Building is a great place for starters! Go out on an afternoon and take a deep breath. Being a little close to nature helps with the stress. The sports centre and Transitions Team also do weekly walks in term time.
  2. Meditate – There are plenty of programs running on campus and you can always drop by to get some advice on how to assimilate all that energy. At the Chaplaincy Centre there is the Buddhist Meditation Room that offers a Zen Meditation Hour in term time. Click Here to get the details. A meditating session just might be the thing to reignite the genius in you.
  3. Dogs to the rescue – Puppies are the best and watching our K9 friends play has some magical effect on us. You will be surprised at how many dog friendly beaches are near Lancaster University. Click Here to get details of the beaches near our Uni. A day at the beach with dogs to play around is a day well spent! You can also help at a local animal sanctuary and walk the dogs, or volunteer for cat cuddles.
  4. Eat well – with a ton of options on campus but very little to spend, eating healthy and regularly can be a challenge. But there are always people ready to help on the internet! I find going to YouTube and searching “Dorm Cooking” to come up with some fast healthy and cheap options! There are “all-you-can-eat” lunch deals in Pizzetta Republic which one can enjoy!
  5. Cut down on the Booze – It’s Friday! “every week” but the deadlines and the grades are forever. What we don’t realise is that Friday night eats up the entire Saturday with a hangover. Try something different – cut down on the booze. One great idea is to have Pot lucks because cooking together is fun. You can spend time with your friends and flatmates when it is raining outside, while having an excellent meal, and unlike other Saturdays, you will have an awesome feast of leftovers rather than a hangover!

Managing the juggling act that is third year

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by Ruth (Student Blogger: History) 

Ok, so third year is upon us, well actually, we’re now almost through, and if you, like me, are in your final year, things, at the moment, might be getting a little too… much. Slowly assignments and deadlines have built up and late-night library seshes have become your new best friend. It can be hard to prioritise which piece of work, module or reading to put first, but hopefully this list can help you order some of the stress that seems to only be increasing…

  1. The dreaded dissertation.

‘Dissertation’ sounds scary. It’s what you uncertainly whispered in first year, convinced in two years you’d be completely capable of tackling that 10,000 words, and then when second year came around, you started panicking as planning became ever more real. The first things first, is don’t panic, sounds simple right? But, in reality, if you split up your dissertation into sections, it becomes more manageable. Traditionally, dissertations, especially for humanities subjects like mine, are split up into three sections. That’s around 2,000-3,000 words for each, essentially three essays after each other, sandwiched between an introduction and conclusion. Breaking up the dissertation and focusing on each chapter separately really helped me to reduce the fear of the 10,000 words. It also enables you to look closely at each section, making sure the arguments you are making work throughout and have a clear structure within. Allow yourself a timescale of 500 words every other day, or 300 words every day, whatever you find comfortable. For time management, I deliberately always set aside 1-2 days a week on the dissertation allowing me a designated time to read through it, so I wasn’t making haphazard changes in whatever spare five minutes I had. But the biggest help was planning and starting early, getting the majority of your research completed in the summer meant I was able to structure further reading on the plan already forming. Giving yourself a clear timescale for the dissertation allows you to section off other times in order to give proper focus to your modules.

  1. How do I even fit in modules around this??

Not only do you have 10,000 words due in but also about forty other assignments all needing immediate attention. Like the dissertation, the best thing to do is to plan early, if like me you have two essays due in around the same time of your dissertation, allow yourself to start readings early. Make use of your tutors, tell them you’re in your final year, and the other deadlines you have on, see them in their office hours, so you get an idea of what they want from you for your assignments. These expectations will help you structure your work, reducing the editing and proof-reading stage… hopefully!

  1. What about exams!?

The words exams and revision might make you want to curl up in bed with a pillow thrown over your head to avoid thinking about them, especially when assignments are due in before then. However, keeping them in mind will enable you to start planning revision. If your course is more exam focus, plan how many lectures you need to make notes on and maybe agree to revise half of or one lecture a day.  As a result, letting you focus on revising the knowledge in Easter instead of learning the material!

Third year is a tough year, suddenly everything becomes busier, graduation seems too far away but also somehow imminent. The main advice is to mange your time effectively. Cordon off some time to start looking at careers or further study, as well as enjoying your, potentially, last year in Lancaster, giving yourself time to rest and recuperate!

The challenges of being an international student

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by Carlos (Student Blogger: PhD in Management Science) 

I remember the day I came to the UK and started my studies at Lancaster University and how long it was since I last had some English lessons. I was worried about how difficult it was going to be for me to speak and listen with and to native speakers. However, everything changed as soon as I met my flatmates. We were able to speak about different and mostly non-academic topics and after several weeks of coexistence with them and listening to different styles, pronunciation and ideas, it helped me to feel relaxed about communicating in English.

Coming from Peru which has a very different education system to the UK I’ve found that it is essential to learn how every course is assessed at the end. Self-discipline to organise your learning progress and proper time management will be necessary to avoid stress and last minute rush and stress by the end of each term. You’ll find that some coursework is individual but you can share and reinforce your knowledge by working together with your classmates and sometimes you may find out that what you believe about the task is not the same as others understand it, including your tutor so this can be very beneficial to avoid any misinterpretation of your assignment task.
After submitting my first written assignments, I realised that my writing wasn’t as strong as I thought it was. This has been a real challenge for me and as the years have passed, I am still trying to be more clear with my writing and I can often identify that there’s something missing or unclear or that certain words can be misunderstood if I don’t explain what I am talking about clearly. I am sure that as my studies progress I will be able to improve on this even more.

I also have to mention reading at university which I have also found challenging. It was supposed that my best score in IELTS was obtained thanks to my advanced reading comprehension. Unfortunately, for me, academic reading can be exhausting sometimes and summarising or finding the gap in the literature and then criticising what the author has said, is an almost impossible task for a newcomer. Therefore, in this respect, something I would advise investing time into is developing a good relationship and maintaining good communication with tutors teaching the course or for me with my supervisor. I’ve realised that if I have a question about the reading or a particular part of my research and I cannot solve it on my own then the tutor or my supervisor is the best person to speak to about it.

As you can see, I’ve had a few challenges when it comes to studying in the UK but with hard work and determination I am positive that I will be able to overcome these challenges and succeed to the best of my ability.

Dreaded deadlines…or are they?

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by Sophia (Student Blogger: BA Hons Religious Studies) 

Ah, deadlines. One minute you’re on top of everything, the next minute you’ve got 15 essays, a presentation and 600 pages of reading to do. This may be a slight exaggeration, but assignments certainly can feel like they are impossible to complete when they start mounting up. So how can you spread your time wisely, and make sure your workload doesn’t become a nightmare?

1. Attitude:

We’re going to skip the clichés and start with something a little bit different. If you start by looking at your assignments with an attitude of ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘I’m not going to get it done in time’, this mentality overwhelms you every time you sit down to work. Doing essay work becomes arduous, distressing and seemingly undoable.

So, before you even begin. Rather than panicking about how difficult it’s all going to be, visualise how good you’re going to feel once it’s all finished. Then, bring that closer, visualise how good you’re going to feel when you finish assignment x out of assignments x, y and z.

2) Planning:
As much as we may all wish to have our essays done 8 weeks before they’re due, we’re human and we aren’t perfect. Many advice articles tell you to start early, which yes, in an ideal world you would have done. However, if you’re reading this and your essay is due in two weeks, a week or less than that, that guidance is of no use to you right now.

So, how do you balance multiple assignments in a relatively short period of time? You can start in two ways, I would advise starting with the work that is due first. Working in chronological order avoids the nightmare of having an essay that’s due next Thursday completed to an impeccable standard, without having even looked at the one due on Monday. Your other option, which is slightly more risky, is to start with the assignment you perceive to be easiest. This may enable you to get this one out of the way quickly, and get you on a roll for your other assignments. Use this method with caution, perhaps only if you have quite a bit of time before your work needs to be submitted, or as I will now discuss, when all your assignments are due at the same time.

3) Multitasking:
The problem may be that, while you feel you can start your assignments, you just can’t cope with the sheer number you’re being expected to complete. Say you’ve been assigned 4 essays of 2500 words, all due for the same day. You can’t decide which one to start, and it’s terrifying that such a large amount of work is due at the same time. Starting with the two most difficult assignments may be too overwhelming. So, pick one slightly easier one, and one more difficult one. Only focus on these two essays to start off with, as flitting between four large essays during the space of a day may be too much for you to deal with, and limit the amount of progress you can make on each. For those first two essays, break down exactly what you are intending to do per day in a ‘to do list’, for example:

To do lists:
PPR 252 Seminar reading (10 pages)
Essay 1 (PPR 225) Complete reading A and B for essay, write 100- 200 words on this. (Easy)
Essay 2 (PPR 253) Complete reading A for essay. (Hard)

You can of course ramp up or reduce how much reading and how many words of your assignment you wish to complete, but by breaking it down in this way you have goals for each day that you can tick off. Remember not to overload yourself, if you set unrealistic goals, you’re bound not to reach them, which can be even more disheartening. Also, remember to take regular breaks and don’t expect to be able to work 7 days a week!

4) Avoid distraction, turn off your phone!

5) Staying positive:
You’re likely going to have a few off days here or there, or feel like no matter how perfectly planned out your work is, you just don’t have the energy or the patience to do it. So many students get to this point near deadline week. You have two options, if this is the first wobble you’ve had, drop your work and walk away for 10 minutes. Ring or message a friend, talk it through with them. Have you been overworking? Is your current method ineffective? If you can realistically afford to take a more extended break, perhaps an afternoon off, then do so and start afresh the next day. If you can’t, or maybe if this has been one of many highly stressful outbursts over a short period, it may well be that you are working as best as you can, but it is just taking its toll on you. This is when it is time to approach your department, lecturers, seminar tutors, TA’s or the welfare team. They may be able to help you better manage your workload or clarify something you’re having an issue with.

Final thoughts: Your department is there to help you if you are struggling, but remember that it is entirely possible for you to meet your deadlines. You are allowed to have off days or wobbles, it doesn’t mean you aren’t going to reach your goals, so try not to be too hard on yourself and good luck!

How to ‘do’ third year, first term

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by Caitlin (Student Blogger: BA Hons English Language)

There isn’t really a step-by-step guide on how to do third year right – but I can offer you some useful insights into what to expect and how to deal with third year in your first term. My first term in my final year at Lancaster is nearly over, and I can definitely say it’s by far the best but the most stressful.

1. Get organised
I know it’s what EVERYONE always says, but it definitely helps if you have a calendar with all of your upcoming deadlines, a to-do-list and make use of posit notes to remind yourself on things you need to do.

2. Start your dissertation early
This is something I have NOT done and regret it, because at this point in the term I’m swamped with other deadlines and priorities and my dissertation has fallen behind. I cannot recommend enough deciding your topic as early as possible (summer even) and getting started on your literature review and data collection as soon as you can, before other deadlines catch up with you.

3. Start applying to jobs early
This is something I began doing at the start of term, but have also had put on pause due to my deadlines. Lots of graduate job deadlines can be as early as October and November, so make sure you check out the deadlines in advance as job applications can be extremely time consuming (especially grad schemes that involve various tests and online interviews).

4. Prioritise, prioritise, prioritise
With the mountain of things you will have going on in third year – from sports to assignments, job applications to work experience and part-time work to maintaining a social life – prioritising is vital. This ties in with organisation, make sure you know when your deadlines are and order what you should be doing first – because there won’t be a time during first term of final year when you have NOTHING you could be doing.

5. Go out, socialise and do everything you did in previous years
Just because it’s final year, don’t let this scare you into isolation, quitting your sports and not going out with friends. I’ve managed to maintain all of this and revive a society on my own – it’s all about time management and once you get the hard work out of the way, you can reward yourself by going out. Without the de-stress of spending time with friends, going out for food or doing anything sociable, you’ll look back on third year with frustration and stress. It doesn’t have to be like that.

6. Get a break from uni
This is something that I only recently discovered – that staying in the ‘uni campus bubble’ is not productive and definitely does not motivate you to get your work done. Get out of Lancaster every once in a while, – catch a train to Manchester, go on a drive to the lakes with a friend or get a bus to Blackpool. Sometimes a day off from work, stress and Lancaster is all you need to motivate you.

Planning coursework effectively

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by Catherine (Student Blogger: MSc Electrical Engineering)

When you have coursework or an assignment due, it it is important to take a step back and plan your work to get the most out of your time.

Creating a Timetable

Let’s say you have an essay due in a week. The piece is worth 20% of the module, but you have classes this week and are concerned you won’t have the time. The table below shows an example week plan for completing the work:

Day  Planned Work
Friday (assignment set) • Read and annotate the coursework assignment
• Highlight key points to research
Saturday • Research key points, collecting references
• Plan structure, listing appropriate references for each section
Sunday • Write introductory section
Monday • Day off – reflect on assignment so far
Tuesday • Write the bulk of the coursework, using references and structure from Saturday
Wednesday • Finish writing the bulk of the coursework
• Note key points for the conclusion
Thursday • Write the conclusion sections, using notes from Thursday
• Proof read, and note any improvements
Friday (assignment due) • Execute improvements from Thursday
• Submit assignment

The key point of this plan is to not begin writing until a day or two after the work has been set, to give you the time to plan and prepare. Annotating the assignment is an important step to ensure you don’t miss any key points and can maximise your grade.

Coping with Stress

You have two pieces due, both significant to your grade, and you work weekends. Breath, everything is going to be okay.

Some stress levels can be beneficial and motivate you to work. Too much stress is distracting, effects your mental wellbeing, and worrying consumes your time.

My advice?

Try to Schedule a Day off
If time allows, take a day for yourself. You could attend a society meeting, spend time with friends, or catch up on a series. This gives you a motivating incentive to work towards.

Get Enough Sleep
Sometimes, you may not have a choice and you may find yourself trading sleep for time in order to meet that deadline. However, consistently losing sleep will affect your mood and productivity so it is best to take care of yourself, so you can work harder for less time.

Allow Yourself Time to Worry
If things become too much, set aside an hour to allow yourself to be stressed. If you can, use this time to create a mind map of how to solve the problems that are concerning you and refer to this the next time you become stressed.

 

 

 

Stick at it, it’s worth it in the end

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by Caitlin (Student Blogger: BA Hons English Language)

Starting university away from home is tough. Living away from your family and friends you have grown up with, learning to cook and clean, adapting to managing your money carefully, handling the pressure of academia, making new friends and deciding what you want to do in the future if a massive step – but nothing really prepares you.

I struggled in my first term of first year at university, because I was finding balancing everything very challenging and overwhelming. I loved my flatmates, my accommodation, the city and being away from home, because of the sheer independence it brought me. However, I found balancing a part-time job that was difficult to travel to, maintaining a long-distance relationship, spending lots of money on basic essentials (with a tiny loan from student finance) and trying to get my head around my three different courses, challenging.

The primary challenge was the fact my three courses were so diverse, because at Lancaster University you tend to have a major and two minors in first year, to give you a taster of alternative courses. Readings were also a big problem – I found myself with little to no motivation to sit down, read through and make notes on very bland academic readings set by lecturers, which were required to do well in my English course. I also found the independent study very tough – you can choose not to attend lectures and seminars and you can choose to never do a set reading, with support you can choose to reach out to, but is solely up to you to do that.

My advice?

I would recommend organising to see your seminar tutors if you are struggling with aspects of your course, because they go through details you do not understand one to one. This helped me greatly and over Christmas I was still deciding whether or not I should remain at university, whilst attempting to write out three set essays. After receiving brilliant results in my essays in second term, I realised that I could actually ‘do’ university and it was just the overwhelming introduction to so many new things at once that wobbled me. My other advice would be to talk to your flatmates about your worries because they often feel very similar, talk to your course mates to get extra help and support one another, email your tutors for some clarification on parts you are struggling with and be sure to contact your family and friends from home.

I’m now in third year and very glad I decided to stick at it, because I wouldn’t have had all of the opportunities and met all of the great people I have when at university. It gives you the chance to work out what you want to do in the future, find yourself and face challenges you never thought you’d manage to overcome.

Making the most of studying abroad

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by Klaudia (Student Blogger: BBA Hons International Business Management) 

Deciding about studying abroad undoubtedly may be one of both the most difficult and exciting decisions of your life. As you are going to step out of your comfort zone, there are various challenges you are going to face as well as the best moments of your life right in front of you. The list of amazing things about studying abroad is probably endless, however there are also some challenging aspects which you have to deal with.
University life sounds exciting by itself. New place, new people, new life. At first, as for an international student, it was a big transition for me. Moving out far away from home, leaving my school friends and family, being made to squeeze all my life into suitcase was challenging and a brave step into new chapter of my life. Despite ‘daily basics’ like cooking or doing laundry, I also had to deal with learning differences of studying in foreign country.

Language barrier
One of the most common and obvious issues for international students is the language barrier. For some it may mean struggling to learn new language pretty much from the scratch, or just being forced to face the ‘real’ conversation and strong local accent. The fact that many academic staff are coming from different backgrounds makes it an incredibly diverse place. Don’t be surprised when you meet a lecturer from your own country! Few first lectures may be a huge transition for you, however with every day you will get used to it.

Academic Differences
When you study in a different country the workload may be different to what you were used to. However, the biggest difference I had to deal with was the emphasis on independent studying. You are going to realise that your timetable actually does not have that many classes in comparison to the amount you had in high school. It is because university studying requires from you a lot of independent studying as well as group projects. At first you may feel the freedom of having a lot of free time, but be aware that there are many things to be done outside the class as well. So my biggest advice is to get a small planner and write down all the things you need to do. My university life became easier since I started scheduling my day so I am aware of upcoming deadlines and coursework material.

Adjusting to new ways of learning can be hard, and you realise how much you are probably used to a particular pattern of studying. However, stepping out from your comfort zone will help you to make the most of your life and develop yourself. It will also be beneficial for your future career and will make you a better learner.
If you need help, remember that you can always seek for help from university staff. You will find many academic support services on campus — some specifically for international students — ranging from library workshops to academic writing assistance and tutors.

Making the most of freedom

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by Will (Student Blogger: BSc Hons Entrepreneurship and Management) 

As a student who had selected to study “Entrepreneurship” coming from a background of A levels in Biology, Politics and Economics, uncertainty of how my university life would materialise is an understatement. From early on in my study of the subject I was presented with the problem of not having a set strict criterion of reading and material to learn. The field of entrepreneurship is still to this day open to interpretation on how best to learn and practice it. This was the first time in my educational journey that I had been allowed to pursue my own interests within an area of study. I found this impossible to begin with, as I couldn’t stand not having a set path leading from study to exam. In the crudest sense I had to expand my mind and stop worrying about what might happen, while focusing on what I could make happen.

The main way I overcame this problem was talking to the professors and course leaders of entrepreneurship. Despite being a confident person even this was daunting, as the perception and attitude of professors is so much different from that of traditional teachers. It therefore took me until around my third week of study to approach my professor after my lecture and explain my dilemma. I was undoubtedly nervous of what the answer would be. I felt that it would confirm my skepticism for entrepreneurship and show my ineptitude at grasping the concept of university styled study.

I was therefore more than slightly shocked to learn that many students had voiced almost identical concerns to my own earlier on in the term, and in fact in earlier academic years. It soon became apparent that each cohort of students studying entrepreneurship and almost all other degrees always included those unable to initially grasp the great freedom given in how one may study.

However, this mere conversation with my professor though explained to me that my problem was not unique, did not solve the situation. I was told in a later conversation with the module leader that the best way to comprehend and therefore take advantage of the freedom we were given to study with, was to practice. Plain and simple I was told to take my first essay with a pinch of salt and just be inventive with it, allowing myself to study many areas related to the title and focus on the most enjoyable from there.

To say that this immediately fixed my dilemma wouldn’t be telling the truth. However, it was clear that from then on I was on the path of recovery or so to speak. Since that first essay, which incidentally received a good mark, I have embraced and improved on building my own path using what I enjoy, rather than what I think I must endure.
This is a problem that I must admit is not totally absent from my university experience yet. However, it is a problem that is now much less significant much more solvable and one I honestly am enjoying conquering.

Presenting like a pro

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by Maria (Student Blogger: MSc Management) 

Assignments and projects are a big part of studying towards your degree, and many of them end with an event that is dreaded by many students – presentations. It is understandable that presenting in front of your professors and peers can be intimidating, especially for freshers that aren’t used to doing it. If you are anything like me, public speaking isn’t something that comes naturally to you, however this doesn’t mean that you can’t learn how to ace a presentation.

Presentations became a big part of my life once I started my undergrad. Suddenly, I had to go from presenting a few times a year to 2-3 times per week! As someone who is a bit shy and introverted, you can imagine I wasn’t too excited about this, still it was something I had to do.

Here are my “key pieces of wisdom” I have gathered during the last five years:

Get to know the topic well
During a presentation, professors will try to challenge your arguments and ask questions about the topic. It can sometimes be seen as a bit “cruel”, but they check how well you know the topic by assessing how you react to unexpected questions. The more you know about the topic you are presenting, the more confident you feel about what you are saying. The confidence you have about the topic will make you feel more at ease when talking about it.

Change your mind-set on presenting
Presentations aren’t something that you will only use in the classroom and then forget about. It’s true what are teachers and professors have been saying our entire lives – you will have to present in the workplace. And trust me, it’s much easier and a lot less risky to present to a professor than to your boss or your clients. However, no program will have a separate module where they teach you how to present. The only way to master this skill is to utilize the opportunities you are given throughout your courses. Think of these presentation days as a free workshop you are getting on how to present. In the classroom, you can always ask for feedback from your professor or your peers on how to improve on your presentation skills. It’s a luxury that many do not have once they start working, so take advantage of it and try to get in as much practice as you can before you graduate.

Time Keeping & Rehearsing
Although it may seem obvious, time-keeping is especially important in these situations, and not only for grading purposes. It happens quite often that your presentation is taking a lot longer than you thought, and this can lead to a state of panic. Instead of just going through the key points, when we are running out of time, we all tend to rush to try to make all our points and showcase all the work we did. However, this never really works. Rushing leads to a lot of mistakes and frustration, and it also makes it harder for people to understand what you’re saying. Rehearsing makes it substantially easier to know how much time your presentation takes. It also makes it easier to improvise if you forget something.