Reading time: three minutes

I, like many of you reading this, have just finished exam season. The relief is palpable! But once the post-exam elation becomes slightly less new and shiny, it's easy to feel a bit empty. After all, you’ve worked extremely hard for a sustained period and for the first time in a while you have more choice about how you spend your time. While summer jobs, moving student houses and vacation schemes will beckon for many of you, now is still a good time to take a step back and consider what you want to get out of this summer because it will, as always, go far too quickly.

With this in mind, why not consider a few of these ideas?

Make the most of time with friends

Especially if you are graduating from university this year, the time between exams and the expiry of tenancies is key. You’ve had to hibernate in a revision-fuelled hovel for too long, so go out and enjoy the sunshine (we can dream). If you thought this article was going to be all about how you can spend this time to further your legal career, you’re wrong. Downtime is just as, if not more, important. Especially with life being more ‘back to normal’, spending time with friends (however you do it) has never been easier.

Get outdoors

Your eventual career isn’t exactly the one most in tune with nature, so I’d advise you to try and spend as much time outdoors as you can while you can! Where you live will heavily influence what sort of nature you can access, but parks are a good way to access a green space for free. If you can afford it, suggest a day trip out to the countryside with friends - and hope for good weather…

Read, or listen to, a book

However you choose to ‘read’ books, consider finding a novel to occupy you over the summer. As law students a lot of our time is spent reading - but not the sort of content you may find enjoyable or relaxing to read. I know that this led me to virtually stop reading for pleasure when I started at uni - who wants to pick up another book at the end of the day? If you feel like this, summer is an excellent time to get yourself out of this reading funk. Read something inside or outside of your comfort zone, or set yourself a reading challenge. It may sound silly, but it’s amazing the sense of achievement you can get by meeting such a goal.

Get some podcast inspiration with this LCN Says: 'The 15 podcasts all law students should listen to'.

Volunteer

Now, more than ever, charities need volunteers. With some extra time available to you over the summer, it's an ideal time to devote some of this time to helping others. And yes, this does also give you something else to talk about on legal experience applications! But more than anything, it provides excellent life experience and really does make you feel like you’ve spent your time in a worthwhile way.

Happy end of exam season everyone!