Reading time: two minutes

It’s the Christmas holidays and we’re all wondering one thing; how do we revise over Christmas without burning out? When do we say enough is enough and allow ourselves to put the books down and spend times with loved ones? 

For me, this Christmas is going to be about scheduling revision properly. As my previous blogs have noted, early morning is when I’m most productive. So, I’ll try to wake up around 7-8am and work until midday. This gives me a solid few hours of revision and a glorious afternoon off to spend walking, eating mince pies and seeing family. 

Of course, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year and New Year’s Day are going to be non-working days. I really struggle to take this time off, because I think about how much work I could fit in if I sat at my desk on those days, but that’s not going to benefit me in the long run. Burnout is a well-known issue for students if you work continually and have no rest, then you don’t take advantage of recuperation time that is the holiday. I have two more terms at university to get through this year, so relaxing really is important; acknowledging this and thinking about later productivity is essential. 

I think the Christmas holidays should also be a time to reflect. You’ve gone through 12 weeks of hard graft, attended workshops, seminars, lectures; you’ve done preparatory work consistently each week; you’ve had mocks and real exams; you’ve had difficult topics you never thought you’d understand but now do (particularly land law)  ?  it’s an achievement! Remember how hard law degrees are, you made it.

Going into the new year, for me, is about (surprise surprise) going in with a plan. My exams are in March, so this gives me solid month to put together a good revision routine. Little and often works best for me when it comes to revision. So, each week I’ll create a few factsheets, do a few multiple-choice questions, and go over topics that I didn’t fully understand first time around. By the time the exams roll around, you’ll have a good chunk of revision done. The new year is a perfect time to start this incremental method of revising.  

I wish you the best of luck in the new year and hope you have a lovely Christmas.