For some of you, exams are over. For others, your summer holiday is getting closer. So in this blog, we’d like to share with you some of our top tips for staying productive once school has finished.

1. Take a Break

After a long and hopefully productive year at school, one of the first, best, things you can do is take a break. Now, I’m not saying go and play video games for the rest of the summer, but recharging your batteries is really important in helping to process all of the information you have just learned at school, as well as allowing you to focus on yourself.

Why not try meditating or meeting some friends to go for a walk in the park, or for a game of football or rounders?

2. Read Some Books

Reading may be one of the last things on your mind, but even if you are not an avid reader, there are many reasons why you should start reading more regularly. Not only will you begin to form a habit over the summer holidays, reading helps you to expand your vocabulary. It also improves your concentration span and ability to focus for longer periods of time, as well as helping you to learn about new ideas (whether you are reading fiction or non-fiction).

3. Learn a Skill

On average, your summer holiday will be around six weeks long. That’s 1008 hours! Imagine how much you could learn during that time. If you spent even just an hour a week over the course of your holidays learning a new skill, by the end of the summer imagine what you could be capable of. You could learn a new language (especially if you are going on holiday), you could learn a new sport, or you could learn to play a musical instrument.

4. Get a Summer Job

Some of you may see this as a less glamorous way to spend your summer, but getting a summer job or internship could be really useful not only for the experience to put on your CV but for university applications too. Especially if you are able to find something that is directly relevant to your future career direction. It can also provide some extra pocket money to spend during the rest of your summer holiday!

5. Get Ahead of School

Wouldn’t it be the best feeling to go back to school next year and already be ahead of all your classmates? You could spend a few hours each week reading over your notes from last year to consolidate what you learned, or you could use online platforms like Get My Grades!

Get My Grades allows you to track where your weakest areas are and displays them to you in a really simple traffic light system so you can target them easily to improve your scores. It also has content which goes beyond your course, which means that you can start learning content for next year, putting you in a really good position for when school starts.

So, what are you waiting for? Don’t let your summer holiday be unproductive – even taking a break counts as being productive so long as you find a balance between taking a break and doing other things.