It’s hard to believe we’re halfway through Michaelmas Term already! It feels like just yesterday we were heading back to campus to start the new academic year or induct our newest PhD students to the LSE community. But time has pressed on, and with us at the halfway mark, it means Reading Week is here. Reading Week is a great opportunity for all of us to accomplish a variety of tasks. In this post, I want to talk about how to use Reading Week productively so you can turbocharge the second half of this term and finish the semester strong.

Catch up on Work

At any degree level, there will be times where you have a lot of work on your plate at once, whether it’s multiple assignment deadlines or a lot of different readings. It’s completely natural for things to slip by once in a while in situations like this. But Reading Week is a great time to catch up on any work you didn’t spend enough time on during the previous weeks. Using Reading Week to catch up on work will allow you to reset the playing field for the rest of term and push ahead toward the final five weeks of the semester.

Reflect on Term So Far

In addition to catching up on work you’ve had, Reading Week is a great time to reflect on your experience so far and take stock of where you’ve been. If there’s a class you’ve been struggling in or ones where you feel like you’ve been doing well, take note of that. Why do you feel like you’ve been succeeding in a particular class? Where do you feel like you can improve in another? Thinking about your academics in this way can you help you develop your strengths and boost your weaknesses to improve your overall academic performance. Reading Week is a great time to catch your breath and think about all this in a useful way.

Relax! 

Above all, take some time for yourself to relax, sleep, and have some fun. This is a stressful time right now for all of us, and it’s important to keep balance in your life. Sometimes, that means setting aside your studies to do other things you like. Reading Week is meant to be a small break for you, so take advantage of it while you can, recharge, and head into the second week of this term strong and ready to go. You’ve got this!