Winter Break is a gloriously lazy time. You’re free from the responsibilities of school and finally ready to relax after the horror movie that was finals. It would be easy to spend three weeks eating Nutella out of a jar and watching every single episode of Gilmore Girls ever filmed on Netflix—and you’re pretty sure you wouldn’t even get bored.
As much as you may want to vow to do absolutely nothing over Winter Break, here’s the 7 productive (and slightly counterproductive) things to add to your checklist:
1. Obsessively watch at least one trashy TV show
Indulge you’re lazy side and pick something with absolutely zero educational value in order to maximize this winter break laziness. Bonus points if you watch from an unmade bed wearing your ugliest lounge pants and rattiest shack shirt. Extra bonus points if the show has more than 8 seasons, stars a celebrity chef (my personal pick is Gordon Ramsay) or features some sort of train wreck dating competition.
2. Get your life in order
Not to get too crazy, but winter break is the perfect time to finally finish that LinkedIn page or start looking for summer internships. Word to the wise: start taking normal pictures ASAP for your LinkedIn profile or you’ll come to the sad realization that all of your available Facebook photos are either in ridiculous costumes, with 27 of your closest friends, or ruined by the neon bar sign in the background. Drunk eyes never helped anybody connect on LinkedIn, unfortunately.
3. See friends from high school (meaning you must leave the house)
It can be tempting to get off the flight or out of the car and go in to total winter hibernation. You’ve just finished a busy semester that was capped off with a week or two of hellish finals so it’s natural to want to relax a bit. Just make sure that you don’t become a total shut in and end up shutting out all of your friends from home—you’ll be glad once you’re out of the house and back in your element with actual human beings.
4. Cook a meal (with more than two ingredients)
There’s nothing like dining hall food to make you crave something that doesn’t come from a box, can, or is otherwise unrecognizable. Ask the foodie in your family to teach you how to make something simple that you can reasonably replicate in your house or dorm. Don’t forget to pair your dish with a signature cocktail (read: not a combination of cheap vodka and flat soda concocted on your dorm room desk).
5. Play tourist in your own town
Maximize your cute W.B. Instagram potential and do some of the tourist-y things that hometown has to offer. This break from school is a perfect time to remember why you love your hometown so much—go to a cheesy holiday celebration, eat at your favorite restaurant or even drive by your high school for old time’s sake.
6. Hang with your parents
Being away from home at college will inevitably make you realize that your parents are actually pretty cool. Take time away from catching up with your home friends, obsessively texting your college friends and of course, napping, to spend some quality time with the fam.
7. Work out
And no, that doesn’t mean concoct an elaborate plan to train for a marathon and then end up sitting on the couch in your sneakers watching the Keeping Up With the Kardashians marathon. Grab a friend and head to a Zumba class or go for a little run around your neighborhood. I’m not one to ever advocate dieting during the holidays (I love those little cheese puffs way too much) but it’s always a plus to get moving after a month of sitting in the library.
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