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You did it! You made it through finals (whether it’s barely alive, or fully confident about the end score, varies), and you’re ready to sleep, eat, and binge watch whatever show on Netflix you’ve been dying to watch. (Not that you haven’t been doing that already, but now you can do it without the stress of an upcoming deadline.)

But before you settle into your hibernation onesie, keep in mind that there are some things you should accomplish over winter break to ensure smooth sailing into the new semester. Here are three key things to finish before going back to school.

1) Update Your Resume/CV

Another semester means an additional four months of leadership experience.

• Did you lead a retreat?
• Organize programming for your sorority/fraternity/club?
• Did you take a workshop related to your field?

Chances are you’ve done much more than you give yourself credit for over the past semester and it’s important to add in that information while it’s fresh in your head, as opposed to waiting until a new job application or opportunity to update your resume. The longer you wait, the less likely you are to remember all of the work you put in. Since you now have a little more free time, make sure to add in all the great work into your resume so that when that new application comes up, you’re ready to go with the most up-to-date resume in your arsenal.

2) Start (and Finish) Scholarships with Spring Deadlines

It’s easy to think, “The deadline is in March, I still have plenty of time.” But what we forget is that by the time March rolls around, we’re overwhelmed with schoolwork, extracurriculars, and work, and scholarship applications suddenly take a backseat as our other priorities come up. Don’t let that happen. Get the application started over winter break, giving yourself plenty of time to edit and receive feedback. Instructors and tutors will also appreciate the wiggle room as they review any personal statements and essays you ask them to look over. It also gives you plenty of time to reach out for a letter of recommendations. Remember, as you are sleeping in, someone else is working on their scholarships. Don’t sleep on free money.

3) Exercise/Get Back Into a Health Routine

We’ve all been there: the semester gets into full swing and suddenly healthy eating and exercise take a back seat as the all-nighters fueled by instant ramen begin. Your health becomes priority number ten compared to all the other deadlines on your to-do list. But over winter break, you have anywhere from two weeks to a month, to remind your body that you care about it. Meet up with some friends to go on a hike, go for a walk, do some yoga, eat some vegetables. It won’t be enough to shave off the semester fifteen, but it’s enough to regain your energy (the magic of endorphins) and start the new semester feeling refreshed.

As the old saying goes: “All work and no play, made Jack a very dull boy.” Take your time to recharge and recover from the struggle of the past semester. But don’t let sleeping in and binge-watching Netflix makes you forget of some other important responsibilities you have to take care of over the free time.

 

Are there any other things on your to-do list you want to accomplish over winter break? Let us know in the comments!