Breaks are a rare and precious delicacy for students, even more so for university goers. Oftentimes, the promise of an imminent semester break is the only thing that keeps us going during the mountainous course load, with rapidly approaching deadlines that hang over our heads. Despite the anticipation, we oftentimes find ourselves unable to savour the ever-elusive semester break when it finally decides to show itself.

That Netflix show that you felt was a masterpiece in the first episode? Now that you're finally free to pick it back up, it's actually kind of boring. The trip you and your friends planned so scrupulously doesn't seem to be happening for some reason. Even the Instagram algorithm doesn't understand you anymore. Still, you can't seem to stop watching the pseudo-romantic moments between Gopi Bahu and Ahemji as you hum along with the lalalala. 

A part of you thinks you've been working really hard and deserve a break. Then again, your classmate is already on Coursera developing the latest trendy skill. The high achiever in your class has somehow gotten hold of next semester's study materials and is now halfway through the syllabus. Not to mention, you're in that purgatory of adulthood where some of your friends have not yet figured out how to make a cash deposit, but the rest are getting married every time a break rolls around. 

Your ideal vacation does not look anything like this. You were to wake up early, eat a healthy breakfast, and do something useful. All this determination is nowhere to be found when the fateful holiday morning arrives, and your bed is the comfiest it's ever been. You wake up at an ungodly hour and decide that maybe tomorrow is the day you'll finally do it right. 

A lot of us fall into this cycle. However, constantly berating yourself for not spending your break "properly" can be counterproductive. While it is great to learn something new, travel, or embrace matrimony if that's your calling, it's also important to give yourself some time to recuperate after weeks of nonstop academics and extracurricular activities. A couple of off days will help you get more done in the long run as it allows you to shed off fatigue.

You shouldn't feel the need to be productive or engaged in activity 24/7 during a break. If you want to sleep in, do it without guilt because you won't get many chances after the break. Scrolling social media mindlessly is not a complete waste either, as long as you don't stress about it. 

Read more

How to cope with a friend’s vacation as a broke person

This is not to say that you shouldn't invest in self-improvement. In fact, the best way to be productive during a break is to allow yourself some breathing room. If you beat yourself up for spending too much time on your phone or in bed, you're not enjoying either activity. Still, you're doing them anyway. The unpleasantness and self-criticism can bar you from achieving the rest of your goals, by making you think of them as an obligation rather than a voluntary activity.

The key here is to balance productivity and relaxation. Who says you can't learn programming and watch silly cat memes at the same time? Instead of forcing yourself to read a an extremely dense and complicated classic, you can always opt for something more enjoyable to help get back in the habit of reading. Go through a part of a tutorial instead of the whole thing. Watch a romcom instead of that sombre Tarkovsky film that requires all your attention. Take a walk outside, if not at the hill tracts.

The purpose of a break is to recharge. In order to spend your vacation successfully, all you need to do is to ensure that you don't return to your daily life feeling even more drained than before.