There are obvious things that shouldn’t be compromised while you’re at uni (such as correct referencing, coffee and a regular intake of dank memes), but sometimes we forget about the things that are important to basic survival and our mental health.

Here are the important essentials that shouldn’t be neglected while you’re at uni.

#1 Doing The Readings

There’s no point in going to tutes if you didn’t even glance at the readings. By actually doing the readings, you’re able to make the most of your class discussions. Don’t be that guy who asks everyone “did you do the reading” at every. Freaking. Tute. Ever.

#2 Asking Questions

If you’re even 0.05 per cent confused about what to do in the upcoming assignment, don’t be afraid to get help. Ask questions until you actually understand all the things that you need to do! And on the topic of questions, it’s also good to ask questions about yourself and the world. University is a time to broaden your mind and reevaluate your core beliefs and your understanding of the world. After all, you’re not accumulating a HECS debt just to smash out essays and go to toga parties, right?

#3 Your Emergency Kit

Here’s the 411, folks. If you aren’t walking around campus with an emergency pad or an extra snack, you’re severely underprepared for any potential disasters that might happen. Before you head off to class, chuck some tissues, deodorant, Panadol, laptop/phone charger and a Band Aid into your bag. Your future self will thank you.

#4 Your Friendships

When you’re busy, it can be tricky to maintain an active presence in the lives of your friends. But maintaining your relationships can be as simple as going to the uni bar for some $5 basics and a game of pool or by tagging them in memes on a daily basis. Wherever you can, make time for the people that you care about.

#5 Your Mental Health

 It’s all too easy to let your mental health take a back seat when uni gets hectic. But this can lead to serious burn out and end up affecting everything else in your life. Whether it’s getting enough sleep every day, making time to relax or talking to someone about what’s going on, do what you need to do to look after yourself.

#6 Doing Things That Make You Happy

This goes hand in hand with looking after your mental health. Don’t think of reading a good book or going to a gig as “treating yourself”, think of it as exercising your basic human right to be happy and to follow the things that make you happy. Set yourself some extra time during the week to do the things that you love doing.

#7 Your Passion

 Sometimes it’s easy to forget that we’re studying because we want to become more like the kind of person that we aim to be. When you’re up to your eyeballs in textbooks and group assignments, it’s easy to detach the workload from the motive behind why you’re studying this degree at all. Find the joy in what you’re doing to remind yourself what drives you to pursue this particular passion.

#8 Staying Informed

If you’ve made it into 2018 without knowing who Jacinda Arden is, you should probably be paying more attention to current affairs (hint: she’s the prime minister of New Zealand and a deadset legend). Staying informed about what’s going on in the world makes you look more savvy in classes, helps you understand the direction that the world is heading in, and it’s a great way to create conversation.

Follow a credible news source and stay woke.