10 Productive Things To Do During Winter Break

Ahh, we’re finally free! Say farewell to the all-nighters and pages of double spaced dread. Winter break is the collegiate’s ultimate vacation. We get to enjoy an entire month (or more) of free time. There’s one problem with that: having too much free time can be a bad thing.

In order to avoid turning your winter break into an unproductive wasteland of sweatpants and messy buns, here are some productive things to do during winter break.

1. Sort your old assignments.

Fall semester is over! Toss old quizzes you don’t need and file away some exams or study guides you’d like to keep. I recommend using a file folio for papers you want to keep.

2. Get rid of textbooks and get new ones.

Sell your fall semester textbooks online and purchase your spring semester textbooks. This is a great way to make some extra cash and prepare yourself for upcoming classes.

3. Update your LinkedIn and Resume.

Yaaay for adult things! You’ll thank yourself later when you’re going to apply for programs and internships and you’ve already gotten the basic materials polished and prepped.

4. Master a recipe.

Image is via Healthy Liv, Copycat Cheesecake Factory Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Recipe.

This is the perfect time to get mom to teach you how to make her famous mac’n’cheese or to finally make those cookies you’ve been drooling over on your Pinterest board.

5. Look into summer jobs or internships.

You’re probably thinking, “Umm, it’s winter…” but trust me–if you start making potential plans for your summer now, you’ll save yourself a headache in the summer. Most summer internships or jobs accept applications in February or March, if you get an idea of what you want now you’ll be able to make sure you fulfill the requirements and have time to prepare. If you’re not sure where to begin, I suggest my guide on How to Find an Internship.

6. Clean up your files.

This means deleting old word documents and photos that you know you do not need and also sorting your files into folders. It will be so much easier to find what you’re looking for when you have pictures sorted by when they were taken and essays sorted by what class they were for, trust me.

7. Read some books.

It’s more than likely that you didn’t have time to read all of the things you wanted to during your busy fall semester. Personally, my to-read list for this winter break consists of starting Leave Your Mark by Aliza Licht and finally finishing Dorothy Parker’s biography.

8. Hang out with friends from home. 

Finally you get to have more than just a day or two with your friends from home! Make plans with your friends and cram as much of them as possible into your winter break. It’s going to fly by faster than you think and after winter break you’ll have to wait until spring to have extra time with your high school friends!

9. Start preparing for January

This is pretty vague but it can easily be adapted to anyone–it can be something as simple as even getting your school supplies and new books together for your spring courses. If you’re a blogger, schedule some blog posts for January. If you’re trying to prepare your wardrobe for January, do some shopping and pick up some shoes that every college girl needs. If your dad’s birthday is in January, go gift shopping. If you’re making a monthly workout schedule, finish your schedule for January. There’s so much you could prepare for–why not get it done while you have some down time?

10. Relax, you’ve earned it.

Who said relaxing, taking a few breaths and resting are unproductive? You’re going from a busy fall semester to a  busy spring one–don’t forget to take some time to just do nothing. Paint your nails, watch your favorite movies for hours with friends, visit your favorite hometown eateries, do whatever! Take some time to just relax and enjoy your down time before the college craziness begins again.

What do you plan to do this winter break?

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