Things To Do Around National and School Holidays

By Jimmy Nguyen
How to be productive during the holidays

Bored? Here are Productive Things You Can Do Around National and School Holidays

You've got the day off and are probably thinking to yourself, “What the heck am I going to do with all this free time?” Sure, you can spend the day or two playing video games, watching a movie, or hanging out with your buddies. But for some of us, we tend to regret having achieved absolutely nothing once our vacation is over. Avoid the regret of wasting your time by being productive!

Here are a few ideas:

Things to Help Improve your Social Life

Learn a new language

Want to get away without getting away? Start by learning a new language. These websites have really great information: Duolingo, Babbel, BBC Languages.

Volunteer for a cause that you care about

Read this article, about the ways to support a cause that you care about. Volunteering is a great and practical way to contribute back to society. Things like cleaning up the beach, helping at a nearby nursing home or animal shelter, or delivering meals to the needy and elderly. You'll feel good and also make some new friends while you're doing it.

Reconnect with friends and family members

This is the perfect time to reconnect with friends and relatives whom you didn’t get to spend much time with during the school semester. Send them a text or email to show them that you’re thinking of them. Use these connections with them to research your family history while you're at it. You could learn something interesting about your family ancestry.

Talk to adults about career options

Now is a great time to think about your future career. Take some time to reach out to relatives, friends, teachers, and even your neighbors and ask them about past experiences and advice.

Get fit and improve your physical health

Set up athletic goals! School and national holidays are a great time to start exercising regularly and eating healthy. For example, 15 pull-ups in 30 seconds, 50 push-ups in 1 minute, run a mile under 7 minutes or hold a plank for 2 minutes. Your body will thank you for it later.

Develop healthy habits

Start by reflecting on your day, read before bed and work on having a regular sleep schedule (no more late night Instagram surfing). Don’t forget to drink plenty of fluids throughout the day.

Things to Help You in Education 

Let's set some goals

Were there things in school that you struggled with? This is a great time to review some of that stuff and come back with a bang! 

Luckily, there are plenty of educational videos online to help you review this kind of stuff:

It's also a great time to improve your writing skills and vocabulary

The size of your vocabulary and writing skills affects how well you do in school. Get to work and learn some new words! Here are some great resources to help improve your vocabulary and writing:

Things to Increase Your Mindfulness

Read

You can read self-help books and articles to improve your habits as a student. For example Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie and Feel the Fear … and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers. Or articles such as The Unintended Consequence of an Overwhelmed Student, How to Stay Focused: Train Your Brain.

Enjoy nature

Go for a hike, fly a kite, ride a bike, enjoy lunch under the sun/shade, or visit a nature center.

Declutter

Give away things you no longer need, clear your desk and get organized. Check under your bed for things that may have gotten lost over the years.

Clear your email inbox

Over the past semester, your email inbox has probably become full of emails that have yet to be processed. Michael Hyatt has a great resource for this. 

Write thank-you notes

Go old-school and handwrite an actual thank-you note. It's impressive to those who receive one, especially in today's world of text and e-mails.

Things to Increase Your Wealth

Get a job

There's a saying that goes, “Take a job for what you will learn, not for what you will earn.” Forget about what the job will pay. If you're lucky, some internships out there are actually paid. 

Start a business

Businesses like babysitting, mowing lawns, dog-walking or pet-sitting cost little to no money to start up. 

Manage your money better

Money management is one of the most valuable life skills a person can learn in life. Practical Money Skills for Life is a great resource for this.

Sell the things you aren’t using

Your junk can be someone's treasure. Hold a garage sale, or put the items up for sale online.

Improve Your Skills

Take an online course

There are TONS of online courses to choose from. Try Coursera and Udemy, or work on increasing your typing speed with Typing.com or TypeRacer.com.

Build or make something

Build a computer or get a saw and make a table. Sew your own clothes. The world is full of things you can build or make!

Learn a new hobby or skill

Now is a great time to pick up a new hobby or skill like playing guitar, gardening, juggling, photography, or skills like public speaking, painting, drawing, or even cooking.

Create a personal website

Why?  Because business cards are so 10 years ago. You'll have a better chance of getting into that job or internship if you had your own website. The WordPress platform is one of many creators available; here’s a complete website setup guide. You don’t have to create your website from scratch. Find 30+ free, professional-looking WordPress themes here or use Wix.com.

Before your vacation is over... 

Just wanted to note that it's nearly impossible to do EVERYTHING in this article. Don't forget the most important part, you also need to have fun on the holidays.