Feeling burnt out? Here’s how to successfully survive a 9am lecture as a York student

It’s April, aka one of the most stressful months to be a university student. If you’re like me, there’s a constant sort of looming dread with the never-ending deadlines, dissertation meetings, essay plans, job applications and graduation plans. Plus, all my plans of sorting it all during the Easter break are well and truly down the drain.

It’s all too easy to snooze the alarm, promise yourself you’ll watch the lecture back later, and fall back asleep. But don’t worry, you can still become an academic weapon, and these are my top tips for beginning your comeback.

Alarms

It starts early, I’m afraid. Your phone alarm is useless and you shouldn’t be using it. Radical, I know! Even if we ignore the fact that it turns off your alarm half of the time, leaving you confused and late, none of the alarm sounds are really doing you any good. Either you’ve grown so used to them that they fade into the background whilst you sleep blissfully on, or they’re blaring through your peace and leaving you disgruntled, and far more likely to turn it off and roll over out of spite.

This is where the physical alarm clock comes in; it’s whimsical, it’s loud, and most importantly, you have to navigate the tiniest switch to turn the alarm off. For me, this requires me to put my glasses on, which is a total sleep-killer, and just like that, I’m awake and ready to force my brain to function using the greatest invention of all; caffeine. Keep your windows open so that the ambient sounds of everyone else trudging to their 9ams acts as a FOMO-style motivator, or even the incessant quacking of the ducks if you live on campus.

Caffeine

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Like I said, the greatest invention of all time. Whether it’s instant coffee, shop-brewed beans, tea, (Yorkshire, of course), or Nisa’s very own £2.70 finery, a hot (or iced) cup does wonders for your belief in your ability to defeat the 9am blues.

The easiest way to romanticise your uni lifestyle is by balancing your notes with a mug. Plus, this actually has the fun bonus of helping your brain to wake up. Extra points to you if you’re sipping it homemade, or if you’ve joined the matcha craze; not only do you appear so put together, but everyone will be jealous of your cute little travel cup and fun flavoured matcha.

Getting there

As long as you turn up, nothing else really matters. A laptop would be useful, or maybe even a notebook, but actually attending the lecture is doing more good than pretending you’ll watch it back anyway, even if you’re unable to take notes. Keep your expectations for yourself low, and actually get there. Even turning up late is better than not at all, I promise.

And if you’re able to go with a friend, they’ll help keep you accountable. The good old “I’ll go if you go mentality” has worked for years. If you have to attend alone, tune in the the university radio (URY); they’re awake and ready to talk you through your commute.

Remind yourself of why you’re attending uni; wander past the campus lake (if you have time), run away from some geese, or promise yourself a Courtyard trip later. It’s waiting for you.

The lecture

Well done you! You’ve woken up in time, made it to the lecture, and now you have to actually sit through it. I encourage you to do whatever it takes to stay (vaguely) on topic; bring snacks, play Subway Surfers or Minecraft gameplay on one half of your screen, write I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON in between every line of your actual notes, or peek at whatever those in front of you are doing on their laptops. This works especially wonderfully in Spring Lane, but I suppose it can be attempted in other lecture halls if necessary.

So, there we have it. These are tried and tested, so hopefully they can aid you in your journey to fulfil your academic comeback in the final part of this year. Good luck!