Advice for students on uni break

🌀 1. Expect the drop – It’s normal

You haven’t failed — your nervous system is just adjusting.

📅  2. Create a gentle ‘break’ routine

• Set wake-up and sleep times (even loosely)
• Anchor your day with 3 key reference points: a morning activity, a mid-day check-in, and an evening wind-down
• Include daily self-care, movement, and at least one thing you enjoy
  Example: “Wake, walk, one creative thing, one chore, relax.”

🧠 3. Shift your definition of productivity

Your brain might still be chasing the dopamine of high-output uni life. That doesn’t mean you’re lazy — it means you’re in transition.

Try using terms like:

• ‘Regenerative time’ instead of ‘time off’
• ‘Mental recalibration’ instead of ‘wasting time’
• ‘Low-demand days’ instead of ‘unproductive days’

🗓️ 4. Use planning tools – Lightly

Tools that can help:

• Visual weekly planners with rest intentionally scheduled
• Sticky-note “to-do” lists with only 2–3 flexible items per day
• Activity jars: write enjoyable break ideas on slips of paper and pull one out when feeling directionless

📉 5. Expect executive function dips

You might suddenly struggle with:

• Starting tasks
• Making decisions
• Managing time

This is not regression. It’s your brain recalibrating without its usual anchors.

Try:

• Body doubling (even virtually)
• Using a ‘first step only’ rule: e.g., ‘Just fill the sink. Just open the laptop.’
• Prepping the night before for small wins the next morning

🌈 6. Build in joy and dopamine

• Sensory play (textiles, music, scent)
• Low-pressure creativity (lego, drawing, crafts)
• Movement or nature immersion
• Small tasks that give a sense of completion

🤝 7. Stay connected

• Schedule a check-in with a friend or safe person
• Join an online interest-based group or community
• Create a shared “break list” with someone else — check off fun tasks together

🛑 8. Set boundaries around energy

• “I’m resting my brain this week.”
• “I need low-demand time before I take on anything new.”
• “I’m off the clock this week.”

Break is recovery, not performance.

🌱 Bottom Line

Structure is helpful. So is rest. You’re allowed to need both.

Written by Kim Eaton, Senior Clinical Psychologist at Lawson Clinical Psychology.

More information

If  you would like to learn more managing university stressors or using your down-time in a restorative way, call 6143 4499 or email via our contact page. 

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