Undergraduate Blog / Career Development

How to be Productive Over Winter Break

This post was written by Kayla Hale ’15, CCD Peer Career Ambassador

I know it’s hard to believe – but winter break is only about a week away (depending on your final exam schedule). Different feelings come with winter break at different class years: as a First Year, winter break was the greatest thing in the world- you get 5 whole weeks of no exams, group projects, or doing your own laundry. Sophomore year it was still exciting but at some point, you’re ready to go back to Babson. By Junior year, you just want to be back with your college friends immediately after New Years holiday. Whether you are a First Year or a Senior, there are several ways to make the MOST of your winter break, and come back to Babson feeling prepared! Below are some tips to a productive winter break:

1.  Resting, spending time with friends and family, traveling, catching up on your favorite TV shows, or reading for fun

I know that this sounds weird – why am I telling you to relax and have fun in a blog post about being productive? The truth is, resting and doing the things you love while you have the time is one of the best ways of being productive. If you are constantly stressing about getting a job for after graduation or getting a summer internship, you will come back to campus stressed, tired, and unhappy. So go on a road trip with your friends, watch the entire series of Friends in one day (kidding) – but devote time over winter break to those things that are most important to you – that’s step 1.

2. Finalize your class schedule, read the syllabi, and buy your books 

Preparing for your classes next semester will allow you to come back to Babson feeling incredibly prepared and ready for what there is to come. When I was a young and eager Sophomore, before the spring semester began, I had already gone through each syllabus for all my classes and written down all the due dates of assignments, projects, and papers in my planner… It was actually great because I knew well in advance if I had multiple projects or papers due on the same day – that way I could do the work in advance. Now you don’t have to go that far, but reading through the syllabi before classes start will give you an idea of how much work to expect over the semester. By completing these tasks a week or two before returning to campus, you will feel much more prepared.

3. Apply to some jobs / internships

The truth is, many recruiters and companies are also on their holiday break OR have huge year-end deadlines to meet. With that being said, you probably wont hear back from companies you applied to in December until after New Year’s. In the meantime, to stay productive I recommend updating your resume and writing a cover letter or two- making sure that when it’s time to apply for the internship or job you really want- everything you need is readily available. I know that this doesn’t sound as fun as spending time with friends, however, you will thank yourself later for applying to jobs when you have the time over winter break, as opposed to when school work starts up again.

So remember: relax, travel, HAVE FUN, prepare for next semester, and apply to some internships/jobs. By following these tips you are guaranteed to have a productive break!