What does a final year student’s typical day look like?
Clue: the word dissertation appears a lot
As a disclaimer, I’m writing this the week before my dissertation is due. I won’t try to fool anyone by suggesting I’m this studious for the other 51 weeks of the year.
Get up
8 am: I’m so far from a morning person that it physically pains me to get out of bed pre-9am. However, the library is getting more crowded each week as we get closer to the end of the semester and I’m too easily distracted at home, so I drag myself to the kitchen for some breakfast.
9 am: feeling slightly more human after some crumpets and a cup of tea, slowly realising that I am the British stereotype. I’m not one for quick turn-arounds in the morning, so it normally takes me about an hour to get out of the house. Now with another cup of tea in hand and a bag full of snacks to get me through the day, I’m off to the library. Please let there be a seat!
Library
9.15 am: after living a 40-minute walk to campus in my second year, I’m thanking my lucky stars that I live 10 minutes away from the library now. The perfect distance to enjoy my cup of tea as I stroll to campus in the sunshine.
I feel a fleeting moment of calm as I mentally prepare to lock myself away for the remainder of the day. I find myself a booth seat near the window, a prime location, and settle in for the morning.
Lunch
12.15 pm: my housemate has just finished a lecture, so I leave the library to get some lunch with her. I’ve made good progress with my dissertation this morning, but I’m feeling very drained for it. I made myself a salad last night to have for lunch, but healthy eating isn’t going to cut it.
I treat myself to some flapjacks, rationalising that I need the energy to get me through the day. We sit outside in the sunshine for longer than we should, blatantly procrastinating while the library, much like our impending deadline, looms over us. We eventually accept our fate and head back inside.
Library part 2
13.00 pm: I think I’m feeling refreshed after my lunch break. I’m looking at my dissertation with renewed energy. I’m going to smash through this!
13.45 pm: the renewed energy was fleeting. I want to be sat outside enjoying the sun. But instead I’m sat inside working, metaphorically chained to my desk and this damned dissertation. The joys of final year!
14.30 pm: The girl sat next to me is watching YouTube videos on her phone. I feel like I recognise her from some lectures. How is she this calm when she has a dissertation to write!? I’m now stressed on her behalf.
15.15 pm: There’s a couple sat near me that are “whispering” a conversation as they sit cuddling and kissing. I came to the silent floor of the library for a reason and this is incredibly off-putting.
Tea break
15.30 pm: I couldn’t stand listening to that couple any more. I grabbed a friend and went for a tea break. We sit and sip our tea and therapeutically complain about the way academic papers are written and how we don’t know how to structure our dissertations. It’s comforting to know I’m not the only one in this position.
Library part 3
16.00 pm: We promise ourselves a couple of hours more solid work before we go home at 6 pm, so I resign myself to more trawling through articles looking for relevant research.
Home
17.45 pm: After agreeing that our brains are fried, we leave early. Feeling totally justified in the interest of “self-care”, we stop at the supermarket on the way home and buy a packet of donuts.
Library (home edition)
18.30 pm: I eat a boring meal of pasta at my desk and contemplate my life choices while trying to incorporate my reading from today.
And relax
21.30 pm: I have a shower and, feeling refreshed, I settle on the sofa surrounded by my housemates, snacks and reality TV. We complain about our dissertations and the annoying people in the library. It feels very zen to let it all out while binge watching TV and eating donuts.
23.30 pm: I head to sleep, ready to do it all again tomorrow.