Lifestyle

10 Ways to Spend a Night In

A big part of uni life is spent going out. Away from the dorm is the norm.

But that’s not strictly true. When you’re not studying, doing a part-time job, partying, or doing one of a billion different activities, there are bound to be times when you’re chilling out on the inside.

Then there’s the summer break and other holidays when you’re either back at home or making do with a more limited range of activities on campus.

For all the fun, I’m sure you still spend a lot of time in your digs. And even if you don’t, there’s always the odd night when you’d just rather stay in your room and lay low. However, this doesn’t mean you need to have a dull time, or stop being productive. There are many ways to have a great night resting in your dorm if you’re not in the mood to go out. Here are 10 specific ideas to consider:

dorm (photo by ainlondon)

1. Have a Cheap Meal Night

Chances are you have a tight budget, so clubbing together with mates for some posh but cheap grub is a great treat. Perhaps none of you are ready to make an elaborate meal from scratch, but it’s still cheaper to buy some big meals from the supermarket. Whether it’s pizzas on BOGOF or several family-size ready meals, these quick meals will often prove cheaper than ringing for a takeaway.

2. Learn Something New

Okay, so you weren’t ready to make that meal with your own ingredients. All you need is an open mind and a bit of time exploring. Time to learn something new!

It’s nice to focus on something that’s educational, but not necessarily part of your degree. And it doesn’t have to be about food, of course. Whether you have interest in history, science, a particular language, or a specific software program or business, take some time out to teach yourself something new.

3. Listen To An Old Album

University means growing up, and that gets a lot of people feeling nostalgic. For that reason, one fun activity to practice on a solo night in the dorm is to break out some old music to listen to. Just tune everything else out and listen straight through an old favourite – you might notice something new, or enjoy it more than you have in years. I did this the other night with some old Gomez tracks and it was lush!

4. Watch A Film Or Two

You may not have packed a DVD collection for uni, but now you can usually find a fun film or two to enjoy on various online streaming sites. Log into Picturebox Films for some nice selections, and take some time to just watch, whether you’re alone or with friends.

5. Catch Up On Assignments

This isn’t the most entertaining option, but you might be glad to take the opportunity to catch up, or get ahead, on study. Read that next chapter in the textbook, get a jump on your next big paper, etc. Productivity in a university environment is never a bad thing.

6. Catch Up With People From Home

If you’re closing yourself off in a dorm room for the night, why not take the time to catch up with people from home? Email, write letters, call, or Skype your old friends from home, and family members who will be thrilled to hear from you. This is a surprisingly rewarding way to spend a few hours on a night in.

7. Organise Your Computer

There’s plenty to organise and “clean up” on the average computer – from deleting old documents, to clearing out an email inbox, and even doing work on your social and professional profiles. Gizmo’s Freeware is a good place to find the best free software that’s usually on par or better than commercial offerings. Often, once you get going with this kind of project, you’ll be at it for hours. So don’t use it as an excuse to procrastinate!

8. Meditate

Meditation isn’t for everybody, but for those who enjoy it or practice it regularly, a weekend night in is the perfect opportunity. You can meditate for all sorts of reasons: to help clear your mind; to alleviate stress; to increase productivity – all very positive things for a busy student.

9. Read For Pleasure

Many university students miss the freedom to read for pleasure! Often, curriculum reading and work occupies so much time that it’s just too tough to delve into a novel for entertainment purposes. A night in by yourself, however, gives you just the chance you need to read something you enjoy.

10. Organise Your Room

Finally, you can also take the time to set up your room. From hanging new posters, to cleaning up clutter, to simply rearranging things, this can be a great way to make yourself feel productive, and to get more comfortable in your surroundings.

–

What do you like to do when you have a night in?

When Limits Give You More

Get breakfast right and the rest of the day will go right with it.

Forget choice. Over the last five years, I’ve eaten porridge in the morning. It lets me focus on other things, rather than having to work out what to eat once I’ve woken up.

As for lunch, I’ve started eating soup each time (unless I’m out and about). The only meal I actively consider is dinner.

I want to set aside all the stuff that doesn’t truly need weighing up in my mind. You’ve seen the supermarket aisles. Hundreds of breakfast choices all competing for your attention. And that’s not even accounting for cooked breakfasts and breakfast bars and breakfast milkshakes! You’re given too much choice. You have to invest in making those decisions each time. It’s tiring and tiresome.

gnome (photo by Rob Swatski)

Aarrrgghh! The range of choice was just too much for the poor gnome (Rob Swatski CC BY-NC 2.0)

Wasting time and mental effort on breakfast doesn’t hold you in stead for such a good day. Save it for the more important stuff.

When I see David Cain and Robert Pozen talking about limiting choices, it comes as no surprise. The more important the situation, the more effort you should exert. For a university student, breakfast isn’t one of those things.

Don’t get me wrong, what you eat *is* important. When you limit your choice of breakfast and lunch, that doesn’t mean you pick any old food to commit to. Focus on a food you will enjoy regularly and that suits your dietary requirements for optimum health benefits. Time spent working on this is time you don’t need to spend afterwards, and it’ll save you time each meal thereafter too.

Practice this beyond food. Everything you do works on different levels of importance. The problem is that it’s hard to explicitly see those levels working. Everything needs your time and input, so your choices seem to blend in. Effort on small decisions may seem minimal, but it adds up and distracts you from more important actions.

When faced with a decision that you have to make regularly, stop for a moment and ask yourself if you can improve your circumstances. Food, clothes, belongings, venues, colour schemes, music…If you spend too much time figuring out what you’d like each and every day, spend some time figuring out how to stop that cycle.

“You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits. I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.” – Barack Obama

Sleeping on a Busy Student Lifestyle

Returning, once more, to sleep. This might seem familiar to you:

“A lot of their tips for a better night’s sleep probably sound fairly obvious; keep to a regular schedule, take time to relax before going to sleep, avoid food and caffeine after a certain time of day. How easily these things can be slotted into an average student’s timetable is another question.” [Cherwell]

This has long been a fascination of mine. How do you balance a busy schedule with late nights and different hours, with a quality sleep each night? For so many students, sensible advice on sleep doesn’t help because you’re too busy doing less sensible stuff.

That’s not to say you aren’t able to act sensibly, but how many of you will stick to the same bedtime every single day of the year? I certainly don’t.

The BBC reports on a study at Boston College, which found high levels of sleep deprivation in school students. I wouldn’t be surprised if lack of sleep continues on at university too. And beyond!

(photo by BrittneyBush)

Sleep doesn’t have to be a nightmare (photo by BrittneyBush)

How do you keep up the lifestyle you want and get a better dose of sleep? Try these five things:

  1. Give it your best shot – When you know you’re tired and should be in bed, make a move toward getting the zeds. The number of times I hear stuff like, “I’m so tired, but I need to stay a bit longer” and “I’ve got important work in the morning, but I can’t miss this” is amazing. Nobody wants to miss out, but how often is it worth it in the long run? Make a choice and pay the price based on what you choose. Don’t try to fit everything in.
  2. Focus on the worst habit – All that advice may be hard to swallow, but just think how much you could benefit from tackling just one major sleep issue. Christie Mims says, “make one change that will make you feel better and will have a positive impact on your day”. If, for example, you go heavy on the energy drinks at the end of a night out, find a way to lay off them. That one sacrifice may be enough to improve your sleep in a big way.
  3. Deal with the easiest issues – Instead of dealing with the worst habit straight away, try the other way around. Get the small stuff out of the way. Anything that makes for a quick win can still help the cause for better sleep. Take baby steps and you may find that it only takes a few before you’ve improved your circumstances a lot.
  4. Be brutal when it counts – Perfect sleep over the whole year may seem to much to ask. Instead, try for a few better nights when you’ve got essays to write and exams to revise for. Check in advance when the big study events are scheduled and commit to hardcore sleep tactics during that time. No question.
    You may be tempted to stay out late, but don’t. You’d love that last pint, but don’t. You’d rather stay up late to get more revision done, but don’t. Remind yourself that this isn’t going to last forever and that you have good reason for what you’re doing.
  5. Listen to your body – Rather than get more hours of sleep, change the quality of the hours you’re already getting.

How do you bridge the gap between student life and awesome sleep? Let us know in the comments.

Stay Close In Your Long Distance Relationship

Long-distance relationships (LDRs) require commitment and work. That’s the obvious bit. But how do you do it?

photo by Robby Ryke

photo by Robby Ryke

I had a great LDR, despite being at a uni with six or seven females for every one male. If I hadn’t been interested in my relationship working out, it definitely wouldn’t have worked out!

At times like these, you have to assess what you truly want. The moment you’re not 100% happy with the idea is the moment you will wander off. Be clear from the outset for your own sake as well as for everyone else.

Writing about LDRs for Norwich student paper The Tab, Rachel Moss has some great advice. With lots of Skype, FaceTime, and Facebook available, it’s easier than ever for you to contact loved ones. But, as Moss says, you have to both want the relationship to work. And it’s not worth constantly checking their social networks or freaking out the second you don’t hear from them when you expect it:

“Stop being a Facebook stalker. It’s easy to overanalyse photos/statuses and think that your partner is having more fun without you. Step away from the laptop and have some fun of your own!”

Paranoia is pointless and needy is unnecessary. Natural development is much smoother. And if things are sadly not working out, you’ll see other signs of it without having to seek them out and panic at every last word uttered. Sometimes the paranoia and constant contact can be the main cause of discomfort.

My LDR started when I went off to university. Moss says her relationship started at uni and her boyfriend graduated. However your LDR begins, it’s best to deal with the situation up front, rather than vaguely ‘see how it goes’.

Are you in a long-distance relationship? Here are a few more of my own tips:

  • Let life without you (and life without him/her) continue – You’re allowed to have fun. So is your partner. Just because you aren’t in each other’s pockets doesn’t mean you have to mope around until you next see them. And you shouldn’t expect that of your partner either. If they’re having an amazing time, that’s great. It’s nothing to do with you being somewhere else. Would you wish unhappiness on your other half? Of course not!
  • Don’t fix the same time to contact each day/week – Life is full of plans. If you’re expected to drop everything at a particular time no matter what, that’s a big ask. When one of you has other plans and has to get out of that contact, it can feel like a slap in the face, especially if the other one of you is at a loose end. Be flexible.
    And if you must have a fixed time for contact for some reason, discuss in advance how you’ll deal with things when you’re not both available at that time. Remember, it’s all about communication.
  • Focus on the relationship, not the distance – As I said above, it’s easier to contact than ever. You can now talk face to face, regardless of your location. Concentrate on the importance of your relationship and you might as well be in the same room.

You can blame distance when things go wrong; it’s an easy option, because distance is a challenge. But it’s not the only challenge. You don’t have to build up being apart as a problem in itself, even though it’s hard to be away from someone you care about that much. I was head-over-heels in love. Three years away at university didn’t stop that.

Like Moss explains, when you’re both “on the same page about giving it a go”, it doesn’t matter whether you’re on the other side of the world or in the house next door. You’ve already decided not to measure your relationship in miles.

What have I missed? Share your own long-distance experiences and tips in the comments below.