Download the printable checklist
Congratulations, you made it to winter break! Now what are you going to do with yourself for the next few weeks? Yeah, see that’s the problem. Colleges are nice enough to give everyone time to recover after finals, but since you’re so used to being busy all the time, you don’t know what to do with yourself when you come home for break.
Well, to help fix your boredom problem, I put together a biiiiiiigggggg list of things you can do to keep yourself busy over break. Since this is blog about not only surviving music school, but kicking its sorry little butt, I focused this list on all the things you should do to to be really really really prepared for the coming semester. It might be a bit of work now, but If you complete it, you can count on heading back to school more prepared than the world’s most gung-ho boy scout. Invest a little time now, so that you don’t feel slammed through the whole next semester.
I also made a printable .pdf checklist of the whole thing, so you can track your progress as you go. Download it here, and get to work!
Fun
- This is a pretty “serious” list, so don’t forget to visit with all your friends. Relax, party, socialize, and connect with people. When it’s March and you’re stuck in a practice room for 6 hours a day, you’ll wish you had socialized more.
- Spend some time with your family. I know they can bug you, but they’re also an important piece of your emotional health. Don’t go home and isolate yourself for three weeks.
- Go to a concert. You spent the whole Fall performing, now get out to a concert, sit back (or jump around, depending), and enjoy watching someone else do all the work.
- Find a new hobby or campus club to get involved with. If you do everything else on this checklist, you’ll be better prepared for the spring, and you’ll have some time in your schedule. Don’t “wait and see” if you have time, because if you think like that, you never will. Find a club, and email the president so that you can’t back out on yourself.
- Visit a museum. You can always find something fun there.
- If you’re really bored, it’s not too early to start making plans for spring break. Decide if you’re going to go somewhere or stay home, and then find something good to do with that time.
- If you’re really really bored, read every post on this site (there are only 22 as of now, so it should be too bad).
Health
- Find a fitness routine that works for you, and start doing it. Learn the exercises now so that you feel comfortable and don’t have to fumble through them during the semester. If you get in the habit of working out now, you’ll probably have a better time sticking to it once things get busy. And, if you’re out of shape, you can deal with the initial soreness while it won’t interfere your practicing as much. Read the rest of this entry »
Now before anyone tries to label me a health nut, or thinks that I want the whole world to be skinny, please hear these words: If you want to play your best, you have to stay healthy. I mean it. You’ll never have the mental focus or the physical stamina to endure a rigorous class and practice schedule if you don’t eat right and stay in shape. And during flu-season, it may just keep you from getting sick.
