How to write your diss without losing your mind: A third year survival guide

Third year, the year we have spent all of second year dreading. If you are anything like me, you are probably wondering how on earth we have already reached our final year at Bristol. I cannot imagine leaving this place. It feels like only yesterday I was a fresh-faced, starry-eyed fresher, moving into Hiatt Baker with my parents, desperately excited to meet my  new flatmates. Suddenly, my dissertation is my entire personality, and I am spending most evenings sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea. How am I supposed to be entering the real world when it feels like my university experience only started yesterday?

It is easy to let deadlines, essays and group projects take over your life. But third year is still allowed to be fun; this is your final year as a student after all. Instead of focusing on graduation, make sure you enjoy your last bits of freedom before the corporate world steals your soul. 

Put effort into your appearance 

Stop rolling out of bed and heading straight to the ASS in yesterday’s outfit. I know time is precious, and I am not suggesting you need to put on a full face of makeup and give yourself a bouncy blow-dry before your morning seminar. But setting aside five minutes for yourself each morning can make you feel a hundred times better and help you start off the day on the right foot. Take the time to do your skincare, brush your hair and put on a comfy outfit that makes you feel good. You might even trick your brain into being a little more productive. Besides, you will realistically end up bumping into your ex situationship from first year or the boy you matched with on Hinge last night, so you may as well look good whilst you are walking down Woodland Road. 

Do not make the library your second home 

You might have ten thousand words to write, but spending all day with your eyes glued to your laptop screen and your bum glued to your chair is not going to help you stay consistent. Instead, you are practically asking to be burnt out by the end of the first term. Make a conscious effort to go outside every day, breathe in some fresh air and remind yourself that there is a world beyond Blackboard. Whether you decide to drink your morning coffee in the sunshine (though it may be hard to find) or go on a lunchtime walk with one of your friends, it can make all the difference. Taking a break from staring at your essay can benefit your concentration levels and actually help you get your assignments done with a clear mind. 

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Avoid having a Groundhog Day routine

One of the quickest ways to lose your will to live is to make every day feel the same as the one before, a never-ending cycle of mental breakdowns and all-nighters at the ASS. No matter how monotonous your schedule may seem, there are always little ways you can switch up your day and make your life feel more exciting. Change up your usual study spot, walk home a different way from the library or try a new cafe on your lunch break. It does not need to be a drastic change; even listening to a new song in the morning could be enough to make the never-ending workload feel less miserable. 

Do one thing to take care of your mind every day  

Looking after your physical health is one thing, but do not forget to give your mental health some love too. Endlessly doomscrolling before bed and comparing yourself to people’s curated Instagram posts will definitely not help your wellbeing! Instead, spend a little bit of time every day doing something which genuinely helps you relax. Whether that is having a gossip on the sofa with your housemates, FaceTiming your mum, buying yourself a colouring book or finally attempting that pasta recipe you saved on TikTok six months ago. 

Find time for a productive activity which is unrelated to your degree  

Procrastination is every final-year student’s worst enemy, but surely it does not count if you are doing something useful…right? Not every productive activity needs to contribute to your final grade; it can be refreshing to use your brain for something totally different. Why not put your skills towards becoming a writer for The Bristol Tab and pitch an article about something you care about? Or you could watch a documentary on Netflix that you think looks interesting. You might not be checking something off your never-ending to-do list, but you will be improving yourself in the process.

Ultimately, getting through this year is all about finding the healthy balance between locking in and having a life outside of your laptop. So spend time with your friends, treat yourself to a pint at the pub and look forward to graduating with a degree you worked hard for.