Bad habits to break before the start of semester

Your level of excitement for the start of semester probably depends on how far into your degree you are. If you’re a first year, you’re probs excited for your brand new uni life to begin, whereas final-year students are probs excited that it’s almost over at long last. But it doesn’t matter how far along in your degree you are – we’re all equally guilty of these bad habits. If you want to start killing it at both life and uni this sem, these are the habits you need to drop.

Being too lazy to make your own food

This is a killer for your wallet and your health. If you buy your lunch at uni every single day, this can add up to thousands of dollars in a year. And chances are you’re opting for the unhealthy options of Thai or other cheap-ish fast-food options that won’t help your waist either. Make the effort to make lunches and bring them to uni this sem, instead of being lazy. To make things easier for the time-poor student, a smart thing to do is make your dinners in bulk. Voila, leftovers sorted.

The expensive coffee habit

The same goes for coffee – while instant coffee might be the stuff of nightmares, there are other alternatives to buying a coffee everyday. Scout the internet to see if anyone’s selling a second-hand coffee pod machine, or get one from Aldi for $79.99. It might seem exxy at first, but it will end up being a whole lot cheaper than your daily $4 soy latte.

Wasting every single weekend with a hangover

Sound familiar? You’ve probs wasted so many days off with a god-awful hangover, and probs don’t realise you do this at least once a week. As the sem starts, you will cherish those days off from uni and work – whether that’s to study or take a break from study, you won’t want to waste it every single time with a debilitating hangover. That’s not to say you shouldn’t have a few wild nights to blow off some steam – maybs just once a fortnight instead?

Being a last minute person

Being a last minte person will come to haunt you when it’s assignment time and you’re sobbing at 4am about a paper that’s due at 9am. If you’ve grown accustomed to continuously hitting the snooze button, rocking up to class late and starting assignments a day before they're due, this’ll only make you more stressed as semester goes on. So stop using “I’ll only lose five per cent if it’s a day late” as an excuse. Be proactive, get up early and, as crazy as it sounds, start your assignments at least a week before the deadline.

Using the “I’m too busy” excuse

This excuse is most often used to avoid chores and the not-so-fun parts of life that are, unfortunately, just a part of life. If you’re living in a share house situation, chances are you’ll all students in the same boat. So using the excuse of being too busy with uni work is no excuse not to lift your weight. Being an adult unfortunately means striking a balance, even at the busiest times of semester when things are stressful. But if you manage to break the habit of being a last minute person, it might be easier to break this habit too.

Getting sucked into all the student sales

As semester one and O-Week approaches, you’ll start to see more and more student discounts and “Back to school” sales begin. But don’t get sucked in – it might be tempting to update your entire wardrobe so you’re looking fresh to death for your newclasses, but chances are by week four you’ll be fed up, exhausted and rocking up in trackies anyway. If you don’t need it, don’t buy it – so simple! Most of the time the student discounts are capped at 10 per cent and in the scheme of things, that’s not much of a saving at all.

Image: Giphy