Eid vacation is so over, and here begins the school again! The excitement of Eid is gone, and the reality is starting to hurt us hard. After the month of Ramadan, studies had slowed down, and the long Eid break completely slid us into a comfort coma. Now we have to get back to our studies, which feels like an uphill battle. Classes, assignments and exams are waiting. The pressure is real, and let’s be honest, none of us feel ready. And, since jump-starting studies like a dead car battery isn’t possible, we have to ease into it gradually. So, how do we do that?
- Fix your sleep cycle first – Most of us became nocturnal during Ramadan by staying up late till Sehri and sleeping after Fajr to wake up in the afternoon. And during Eid, late-night hangouts with cousins and endless dawats didn’t help either. Now suddenly, we have to wake up early for university or work, and it feels impossible. To fix this, we have to start by sleeping 30 minutes earlier every day and avoid screen time completely. Within a week, your body should adjust to the new sleep cycle, and you can wake up for those early classes without feeling dizzy.
- Find your motivational energy – Now even if you’ve fixed your sleep cycle, studying might still make you lethargic because studying after a long break feels like trying to run a marathon without a warm-up. You have to find your motivational energy— what pushes you! Maybe it’s the thought of good grades, the satisfaction of completing tasks or just the fear of failing exams. You have to remind yourself that you’re doing the hard work for yourself.
- Change your study environment – If you’re anything like me, there’s probably one layer of dhula (dust) on your study table because you haven’t sat there for weeks. But that has to change. Having a proper study environment, a clean desk, and organised books helps reset your brain and signals that studying can also be interesting. Just sitting at your desk and fiddling with your books can also redirect your focus to studies from other distractions.
- Make a realistic study plan – You don’t need an aesthetic study planner with highlighters. Kudos to you if that’s your thing, but if you’re lazy like me, all this planning and organising is just going to take your interest and energy away. Instead, keep your plan flexible so that if one day doesn’t go as planned, you don’t completely give up. Prioritise what’s important and urgent according to your exam schedule and class routine and gradually work your way through the load. Remember, starting is the key, and if you can just start, the work will automatically start being done.
- Reward yourself – Starting studies after a long break is tough. Your parents might not understand that but you do. So, reward yourself for a job well done. Finished a chapter? Treat yourself with a bar of chocolate. Completed an assignment? Watch one episode of your favourite show or scroll through the beautiful Eid photos for a minute to reminisce. The whole process will just instantly become less painful and uninteresting with the small rewards.
We all know that getting back to studies after a long break is tough. The first few days will feel slow, and the pressure of exams will seem overwhelming. But the sooner you start, the easier it will get. Just like we adjusted to Ramadan’s schedule and then to Eid’s celebrations, we can adjust back to study mode too. Step by step, little by little, it will all fall into place.
So, will you keep waiting for the “right moment” to start studying, or will you take the first step today?