Me and my friends in Bournemouth town centre

You’ve made it to the final September of your degree. The last months until you hit graduation. The final lap of the race. After the year of lockdown and zoom calls, returning back to everyday life can be very demanding and tiring.

Final year is the bittersweet living of wanting to do everything you can before it ends. The last time to sign up to events, activities, and societies and making the most of your university experience. However, it is also a reality check for you to understand and define your balance between working independently, jobs, social lives and more.

This year is a massive step up to being left on your own. To be given major projects and essays and allowing you to stand independently to work through it. This will mean you would need to set up your own routine, schedule, and working alongside supervisors. However, this comes with a lot of responsibility and discipline.

As someone currently going through final year there are three things that I have picked up over the past few months. These are some advices that has been passed on to me by my lecturers and things that I have realised along the way.

My planning board in my room

1. Plan Ahead: Being able to know where you are now and where you need to go is key to progressing through work. Even though not a lot of timetabled lectures are in place, you would need to set those spaces yourself. Find your weekly routine and keep in mind deadlines and personally set deadlines along the way. Create your key steps to hit prior to your final submission instead of putting it off. Planning is the best place to start when you are not sure how to tackle your work or your day.
2. Balance: This is a difficult task to do, and I am still learning how to handle this better. It is easy to slip into your social life
   

   Winter Wonderland in Bournemouth town centre

   when you have a lot of time in your hands, or it is easy to be consumed by stress when you do not know what to do. This means figuring out when something is too much, or when to participate in social events versus staying in and work.  Therefore ensuring you have a substantial balance to your day and weeks is detrimental to passing through your final year.

3. Take a step back: You will hit points early on where you will be struggling, where your work and your balance will be askew. Taking a breather and allowing yourself to process your day and calm your mind is important. Your mental, physical and social wellbeing are crucial to provide the best output to your work.

This process may feel similar to final year of college or high school, it is a natural and tiring process but keeping yourself in check can greatly benefit how the year plays out.

Best of luck to final year students, may we see one another walking down the graduation hall.