You go to uni to learn, right? But it’s not all about your chosen academic subject, some of the biggest lessons you learn when you go to university don’t take place in a lecture theatre, particularly when it comes to adulting.
Unfortunately, there is no Big Book of Adulting that you’re handed when you hit 18, so we’ve put together some simple student life hacks that should make your Uni experience a little bit easier.
Food
- Cooking from scratch is much cheaper than buying ready meals/pre-prepared food/takeaways. Learn a few 3 ingredient recipes, such as pesto pasta to increase your repertoire.
- Plan meals for through the week, then batch cook and put them in the freezer in leftover takeaway tubs, then you can just stick them in the microwave when you need them.
- Invest in some herbs and spices and stock cubes, they can make the plainest pasta sauce much more interesting. Also, remember that cheese makes everything taste better, fact.
Time
- Managing your time is a valuable skill, but basically all you need is a list and some coloured pens. You can break your lists down into academic tasks, admin tasks etc, or have a new list for each day. Either way, you get the satisfaction of ticking things off as you go, which always feels good. And did we mention the coloured pens?
- Download a planner app, or a study plan, and have all your deadlines in one place so that you’re not taken by surprise.
- Unsubscribe from all those marketing emails that send you off reading your horoscope for hours on end.
- Try the Pomodoro Technique, which breaks your work into intervals. This is a good way of beating procrastination.
- Brace yourself for this one, but have you thought about….limiting your social media time? You can get blockers, but just turning your notifications off for a while can help. Who hasn’t had a quick look at TikTok for 5 minutes then found themselves 2 hours later doing something fancy with a tortilla wrap?
Money
Having to deal with money can feel so overwhelming. At uni, you suddenly have to be in charge of ALL the money, and that means bills and food and rent and maybe even a social life, so here are some of the best things you can do to make it easier:
- Learn how to budget.
- Keep on top of your money – you can even make it a bit of a game; see if you can find the best bargains, and the best ways to save money. For example, is it cheaper to go to the supermarket in the evening?
- Make the most of student discounts, travel cards etc
- Buy second hand
- Save energy bills by working in the library
- Try passive cooking – start boiling food on the hob, noodles or pasta for example, then turn the hob off and the food carries on cooking, genius!
Space
Uni accommodation can be tiny, and by the time you’ve got all your teddies/plants/trainer collection unpacked there’s not a lot of room for much else:
- Before you go to uni have a good de-clutter; it’ll give you more space and, more importantly, you can stick them on Depop or Vinted and get some cash
- How often are you planning on going back home? If you’ll be making regular trips then you only need to take clothes for this season, no need to take all your winter jumpers and big coats.
- If you do have to take more, try vacuum packing your clothes; you can buy cheap vacuum storage bags online which will let you fit more in, and it’s really satisfying to do!
There are also ways to organise your room to make the best use of space:
- Over door hooks
- Drawer organisers/dividers
- Furniture that can double as storage
- Space-saving hangers
- Desk organisers
- Under bed storage
You
The best student life hack you’ll learn is how to look after yourself and put your needs first. All that partying/studying can be tiring and overwhelming, and if you’re not happy, it doesn’t matter what grades you get or how many parties you go to, so remember:
- Eat well
- Stay hydrated
- Get enough sleep
- Do some exercise
- Don’t compare yourself to other people, everyone’s uni experience is different
- It’s OK to not be having the time of your life
- It’s OK to say no to things
Being a proper grown-up can be hard, but as you meet new people, and have more experiences, you’ll soon pick things up that will make it a whole lot easier.
Student insurance is also pretty grown up, but something worth thinking about; it could cost you less a month than the average price of a cup of coffee from your favourite premium coffee shop. Whatever kind of student you are, there’s a policy that will suit you and you can tailor it to make sure you get the kind of cover you need. Why not give us a call and get a free no-strings quote?
So, while we can’t promise that you’ll suddenly become a pro-adult, you’ll definitely be able to wing it with the rest of us, and we can guarantee that you’ll have an amazing collection of coloured pens, which is the main thing!
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