What to do During Free Time at School?

We often find ourselves doing very little during break time, lunchtime or during free classes (this is
where you have no scheduled classes at school). There are definitely way in which you could turn
free time in school into productive time.

You can choose several ways to spend your free time at school but you should definitely try to  do
some reading, exercise, socialising or taking part in co-curriclar activities (CCAs). Your free time
could also be spent planning- this is very useful because it can get you much more organised.
Ideally you want to use the free time to relax; not to burn yourself out.

If you feel that you have not got much to do after eating lunch or snack at school, have a look at
the various productive things you could be doing.

Feeling unproductive during your free time at school?

During your free time, you should take a second to check out your to-do list. If you don't have a
to-do perhaps you should think about getting one. If there are any tasks on your to-do list that are
pretty urgent then do give them attention.

If you feel that you really have nothing in particular to do then how about getting yourself a book.
Or if you don't wanna read then how about giving a try on audiobooks? I would highly
recommend using Scribd.

Scribd is a platform where you can access books, audiobooks, PDFs and magazines. I highly
believe that this be worth it since you can download audiobooks and ebooks so you can listen
and read anytime during your break.

Now you must remember that school isn't somewhere you should only learn about math, science,
english and history. You need to educate yourself on life skills and learn things that are not
necessarily taught at school. This is where reading or listening to audiobooks comes in.

If you want to start developing a habit for reading then try and organise a small student
community (book worm club?) that spends their lunchtimes or sometime during break sharing
their ideas and what they learnt. You may just decide to do this between a group of friends.

Similarly, it may be a great idea to participate in a co-curricular activity (CCA). An example would
be a chess club during lunchtime. If there are no co-curricular activities setup then take the
initiative to start one. You may also decide to help out (as a service) during break or lunchtime.

Another great thing you could do is physical exercise. Now at my school, I have 55 minute- lunch
break. So I play volleyball during lunchtime. You can also decide to get a group of friends together
and play sports during your break, maybe a quick game of basketball or football?

Physical exercise between learning sessions can be highly effective. Exercise can help you
immensely when it comes for learning and performance during exams.

Usually a lot people will spend their break and lunch talking around a table. Which is absolutely
fine. In fact, you should engage in discussions since it will help to improve your communication
skills. Also, you may feel that you need a study break and divert your mind away from solving
complicated equations.

Basically, you want to spend your free time at school in a productive way. Sometimes you may
just want to chill and relax which is perfectly fine. However, if you feel that you are wasting time
then get yourself a to-do list to make sure if there important tasks that need to be considered.

How can I develop a reading habit at school? What book should I read?

Now if you want to develop a reading habit, you want to ensure that you are reading close to
everyday. Now you will want to find a nice place to sit down and read- the library is always a great
option.

If you are starting out then don't force yourself to read for 45 minutes straight. If it's during
lunchtime, eat your lunch first, talk to a few friends then head down to your designated reading
place. What you want to do is start reading for 2 or 3 minutes. That's it. Just a few minutes.

Once you have convinced yourself that you can keep going then read for 5, 10, 15 and 20
minutes. Whenever you are reading, always keep a journal or diary near you. This is for writing
down what you have learnt. There is little point in reading if you are not remembering and applying
the ideas you have learnt. Keeping a reading diary will ensure you write down all the key ideas.

In terms of what books you could read, it completely depends on you. You should be reading a lot
of non-fiction books on various topics but don't give up completely on reading fiction. Reading
fiction is essential for driving our imagination and creativity.

Remember that you don't need to write one book at a time. In fact, the ultimate way to utilise the
benefits of reading is to read several at a time and then try to connect the ideas and thought
together.

If you are particularly interesting in looking at book summaries then I would recommend using
Blinkist. This platform basically gives you summaries of very popular books, you should check this
out if you want to get key ideas from a book. However, remember that reading the whole book will
give you a more personalised perspective and information that you summarires will be more
meaningful to you.

Try checking out the school library during your free time at school. There is so much knowledge
out there...

Is it a good idea to study during lunchtime, break or any of my free periods?

For those people who don't know what a 'free period' is, it's when you have no enrolled classes at
that time. During this time you are free to do anything- under the school rules and law. In my
school it's know as 'study' period because you are highly encouraged to do some work.

Now studying during break or lunch is not easy. But people do start heading down this route
when exams are approaching. If you are using your break or lunch to study then that indicates
something pretty clearly; you are not doing enough work at home or in class.

Let's face it- studying during lunchtime and break is not ideal. You should be prioritising eating
and refreshing yourself rather than studying. If you start studying during lunchtime or break then
you are putting quite a lot stress on yourself.

You should use break time and lunchtime for their purpose: to take a step away from the books.

The last thing you want is to burnout- especially close to an exam date. This is when you
completely loose yourself mentally and physically.

Now studying during a 'free' period sounds like a much better option. This time is meant to be for
work rather than eating, socilasing or relaxing. Although if you feel that you could do with a break
then do take that time off.

If you want to get highly focused in your study sessions and limit all your distractions from your
devices, I suggest you check this page I made, right here. 

What exercise can I do during break or lunch?

As mentioned before- exercise has a massive benefit on study performance. Even if it is a little bit.

The best way to do this is to talk to one of your friends or possibly get a group of friends together
and choose to play sports. You could even organise competitions or run a sport-related CCA (co-
curricalar activity).

It is also highly recommend to talk your sports/ physical education teachers to see if they can help
you organise any actives that will get that blood pumping. It may also be a good idea to bring
sports gear and clothing so you don't get really sweaty and smell in class.

On the contrary, if you are not a very sporty person then something as little as a walk around
campus can be highly effective. Persuade a friend to come along so you can walk and talk around
campus. Not only are you getting some physical exercise but you can also take your mind off
school stress through talking with friends.