O-week is fast approaching, which means the dreaded first week of semester will soon be upon us.

Whether it’s your first year or your last, we’ve got a list of all the things you need to take care of before the semester kicks off.

Fix Your Sleep Cycle

Try to get as many sleep-ins as you can before that shrill alarm jolts you awake every morning. Ideally, we should all be aiming for a healthy eight hours sleep every night. So, if you’re getting more or less than that, start changing your sleep cycle so you’re not stress crying on the 6am train to uni.

Clean Your Living Space

Yep, it’s time for the dreaded spring-cleaning of your dirty, musty, coffee cup littered room. Chances are you won’t get another chance to clean again until mid-sem break, so open a window for Christ’s sake and blow away that stale stench of microwave pizza!

It’s actually proven that a clean study space can lift your spirits, improve your mental health and help you study. So no more excuses, make your mother proud and get onto it!

Get That Cash Money

Start of semester means the start of being broke. For the whole year. Do yourself a favour and take those late night shifts your boss offers you. Start to do some baby sitting or ask to come in to work on Sundays for that time and a half pay.

If you start to save your money now, you won’t have to count your coins in the uni café and have a mental break down because you can’t afford an extra shot caramel latte. 

Plan A Trip For Mid Sem Break

It seems ages away, but if you start thinking ahead to the break now, you’ll have something to look forward to throughout your semester. It doesn’t even need to be a Europe trip, you can just organise a road trip with your friends, or go camping for two days at a nice location. You could even splash out and spend a weekend at a fancy hotel with your bae.

Whenever a mature age student asks a stupid question in your lecture, you can think of this trip so you don’t start banging your head on the desk.

Say Good Bye To Netflix, Free Time, Your Friends And Family… Pretty Much Your Life

It’s time to say the dreaded good bye to your bed and Netflix. If there are any movies or series you want to binge, I suggest doing it now. While you’re at it, you might as well say good bye to your friends and loved ones. Especially if you’re in your last year, you will probs turn in to a hermit crab and won’t see them until you graduate. Sayonara.

Set Goals

Before you go back to uni to do the same old thing, set yourself some goals so you can improve from last year. Were you super stressed last semester? Did you manage your time wisely? Did you fail a unit? Learn from last year’s mistakes and try to surpass your personal goals. Having something to work towards will give this year more meaning.

Find Your Classes

Don’t make the mistake in showing up on your first day having no idea where your classes are. Your campus is usually bigger than you think, especially if you’re a first year, and being late for your first lecture of the year isn’t really a great start. Make sure you know where you will be having your lessons before you start to prevent the freak out and stress crying.