One of the hardest balancing acts at university is managing your energy alongside your workload. Pushing through when you’re depleted leads to poor work and longer recovery time. But completely switching off can make getting back into study mode feel impossible.
Here’s how to use your time between study sessions in ways that actually help.
Understand the difference between rest and recovery
Rest means doing nothing, lying down, or sitting quietly. Recovery means doing something that actively restores your energy, for example, a walk, a hobby, or social time with people you find easy to be around.
Both matter. Neither is laziness.
Active recovery activities
These are activities that feel enjoyable and low-effort but actually help your brain consolidate what you’ve learned:
- A 20–30 minute walk (even a short one genuinely improves memory consolidation)
- Drawing, making, or building something with your hands
- Listening to music or a podcast on a completely different topic
- Light physical activity
Avoid these during recovery
Scrolling social media, watching intense or dramatic content, or engaging in any task that requires sustained focus aren’t recovery; they’re a different kind of demand on your attention. They often leave you feeling more tired than before.
The Pomodoro technique adapted
The classic Pomodoro technique suggests 25 minutes of focused work followed by a 5-minute break. If that feels too short or too long, adapt it. Some students find 45 minutes on, 15 minutes off works better. The principle is the same: structured work blocks with genuine breaks in between.
The Pomodoro technique doesn’t work for everyone. For example, ADHD hyperfocus can actually be more effective.
But Pomodoro can be a useful tool if you are finding starting a task difficult, or are not feeling motivated.
Know your personal energy curve
Most people have predictable peaks and troughs in their daily energy levels. Identifying yours — and scheduling demanding cognitive work for your peak times — is one of the most effective productivity strategies there is.
Rest is not the enemy of productivity. It’s the foundation of it.