Tips for long days on campus?
Hello all! I'm going into my second year, and I've just been working out my timetable for this year and, dear oh dear, I'll probably end up being on campus from 9am to 9pm every Monday, as my student house is 45mins commute away from campus, so there's no point in me going home between lectures, and I then have an evening sign language class at the end of the day. I may also be going to the gym before class if I truly do want to suffer that day!
My point is is that I may end up leaving the house at 7-7:30am and not get back until almost 10pm. Does anyone have any tips for spending so much time at uni every day? I don't want to buy expensive campus food every day, so does anyone have any tips for packing lunch, dinner, and snacks for uni without impossibly weighing down my bag? Any good portable recipes for a vegetarian on the go? A bag I should buy? Anything I should 100% keep packed in my bag to make it a less painful experience? Please let me know!
My point is is that I may end up leaving the house at 7-7:30am and not get back until almost 10pm. Does anyone have any tips for spending so much time at uni every day? I don't want to buy expensive campus food every day, so does anyone have any tips for packing lunch, dinner, and snacks for uni without impossibly weighing down my bag? Any good portable recipes for a vegetarian on the go? A bag I should buy? Anything I should 100% keep packed in my bag to make it a less painful experience? Please let me know!
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I remember having a 9-6 day (had to leave at 07:30am to make sure I turned up on time)... otherwise buses on a weekday...wow...
Anyway, I remember buying those CHEAP pizzas (about 90p each) and topping it with things like peppers, pineapple, sweetcorn etc...
I then proceeded to eat a slice every hour or so, this way I wouldn't be hungry and it would last me about 6 hours...
Also, I would pack some fruit as well... just to keep you going.
Anyway, I remember buying those CHEAP pizzas (about 90p each) and topping it with things like peppers, pineapple, sweetcorn etc...
I then proceeded to eat a slice every hour or so, this way I wouldn't be hungry and it would last me about 6 hours...
Also, I would pack some fruit as well... just to keep you going.
Lots of coffee and/or lucozade
Oh yeah, another tip.
Prepare the pizza the DAY BEFORE your long day. That way you just have to put it in the fridge and go.
Also, don't forget breakfast. =l
Prepare the pizza the DAY BEFORE your long day. That way you just have to put it in the fridge and go.
Also, don't forget breakfast. =l
I had a couple of similar days when I was doing my undergraduate degree. What I can think of that helps:
* buy a decent backpack that can comfortably hold all your stuff, and is easy to carry around. While I really like satchels, I wouldn't use one on a 'heavy' day as after a while of carrying lots of stuff in them, my shoulder starts to ache.
* buy a water bottle/canteen and fill it up at the drinking fountains, and save on buying bottled water. Likewise, maybe invest in a re-usable thermos coffee cup (they sell good ones in Starbucks actually). At my uni's cafe, if you brought your own cup you got a discount on hot drinks. They also sold just hot water, so if you brought a little bag of teabags you could make tea for very little. Also means you can have whatever kind of tea you like, and in the mornings you can bring your tea/coffee with you and save a bit of time.
* invest in some tupperware and plan your meals in advance, especially for the busy day. Cook & pack a filling lunch, and use your weekends to make some snacks you can throw into a small box to bring - I sometimes make trays of healthy flapjacks or similar that I slice up, and just bring a couple of them with me when I'm out. They make a good snack with your cheap cup of tea
* dinner is often the tricky one. Will you have access to a microwave? That means you could bring in an already-cooked dinner and just heat it up. Or prepare something you don't mind having cold, like a pasta salad or similar?
* finally, does your uni offer lockers for students? With mine you could get a locker and use it to store bags, books, lunchboxes etc. It's a real saviour on long days as it means you don't have to lug around all your day's food, books etc. and can simply go back & forth to get what you need.
I think with long days it is ultimately unavoidable that you will be bringing in a full backpack, especially if you want to save money and bring your own lunch/snacks etc., so be prepared for that. Just get a good backpack which has enough pockets & space for you to carry your academic stuff as well as any food. Being loaded down is a bit inevitable I'm afraid!
* buy a decent backpack that can comfortably hold all your stuff, and is easy to carry around. While I really like satchels, I wouldn't use one on a 'heavy' day as after a while of carrying lots of stuff in them, my shoulder starts to ache.
* buy a water bottle/canteen and fill it up at the drinking fountains, and save on buying bottled water. Likewise, maybe invest in a re-usable thermos coffee cup (they sell good ones in Starbucks actually). At my uni's cafe, if you brought your own cup you got a discount on hot drinks. They also sold just hot water, so if you brought a little bag of teabags you could make tea for very little. Also means you can have whatever kind of tea you like, and in the mornings you can bring your tea/coffee with you and save a bit of time.
* invest in some tupperware and plan your meals in advance, especially for the busy day. Cook & pack a filling lunch, and use your weekends to make some snacks you can throw into a small box to bring - I sometimes make trays of healthy flapjacks or similar that I slice up, and just bring a couple of them with me when I'm out. They make a good snack with your cheap cup of tea
* dinner is often the tricky one. Will you have access to a microwave? That means you could bring in an already-cooked dinner and just heat it up. Or prepare something you don't mind having cold, like a pasta salad or similar?
* finally, does your uni offer lockers for students? With mine you could get a locker and use it to store bags, books, lunchboxes etc. It's a real saviour on long days as it means you don't have to lug around all your day's food, books etc. and can simply go back & forth to get what you need.
I think with long days it is ultimately unavoidable that you will be bringing in a full backpack, especially if you want to save money and bring your own lunch/snacks etc., so be prepared for that. Just get a good backpack which has enough pockets & space for you to carry your academic stuff as well as any food. Being loaded down is a bit inevitable I'm afraid!
I've never been strictly in uni for that long, but last year I was in uni 9-5 and then working 6-9 Monday-Friday, without enough time to go home in between. I had to leave my house at 8am to get to uni and would get home at around 9.40pm, so I had to make it work.
Regarding the gym: do you have a gap during your day on a Monday that you could fit in a workout? Most of my timetables have had really decent 2-3 hour gaps in them, but I had one hellish one that had a class 9-10, 11-12, 1-2, 3-5 so the gaps were never long enough to workout. If you do have a decent gap, do your workout then instead of getting up earlier to do it. Your longer day will get a bit shorter plus exercising in the middle of a long day really perks me up and means I can focus more in the next lot of classes. If you don't have time to head to the gym, could you go for a run in that time? My university has changing facilities and showers available in many of the buildings, these are for staff and students to use if they cycle to uni or are runners or whatever. Some of them have lockers, some don't. Generally, the office staff in the building will happily keep your bags for an hour or so if you have no where else to put them. I was lucky enough to have my car though so I didn't need to do that very often.
Food: plan plan plan! Seriously. Make sure you're eating foods that will give you long term energy rather than foods that will give you a spike in your blood sugar every time you eat it. You'll be in for a really rough ride if you have a 12 hour day with continual highs and lows. My go to breakfasts were:
High-carb days: oatmeal with almond milk, raw cacao powder, banana and chia seeds
High-protein days: 3 slices of turkey bacon, scrambled eggs, avocado & cottage cheese. I would sometimes have this on toast if I was really hungry. (oops just remembered you're vegetarian, the turkey bacon could easily be subbed though)
Without seeing the breakdown of your day it's quite difficult to help with the food for the rest of the day. I'm also not sure on the eating rules at your uni, but here is what I did anyway:
Lunch: on a sunday night I'd make a big pot of vegetable soup, keep three portions in the fridge and freeze two. Each morning I would heat it up and put it in my thermos. My thermos keeps food hot for up to 7 hours (although it's realistically more like 9), so I could put the soup in the thermos at 7.45am and still have it hot at lunchtime, regardless of whether I ate lunch at 12 or 2. I would bring crackers to eat with my soup as it's usually about this time that I'd be craving something salty and crunchy, so crackers stop be reaching for the crisps. I would usually bring fruit too, just whatever I had handy on the day.
Dinners: I have two favourites to make, one is a mexican type salad, the other is a quinoa salad. Both include chicken but this could be omitted or subbed out for something else. Let me know if you want the recipes. These are great because they travel well, don't need to be refrigerated all day and can be eaten cold.
Snacks: nakd bars were a huge help to me. It was usually on the longest days that I'd crave chocolate, so chocolate orange nakd bars gave me the chocolate fix I needed whilst still keeping my energy level even rather than spiking it. Nuts, fruits and vegetables are also great snacks. Servings of nuts are small, so they don't take up much space but give you a decent energy boost and some are particularly good for your brain function (almonds, primarily). Blueberries are again small and good for brain function. I like to bring sliced bell peppers and cherry tomatoes too.
Someone above mentioned this, but I can't stress it enough: buy a reusable water bottle! Mine is 800ml and I love it. I drink 4-5 800ml bottles a day. It's crazy how much more awake and alert you feel when you're hydrated, so this is a really important one.
I've used this backpack since first year (third year now) and I love it. It has a pocket specifically for chilled food and drink so that you can put chilled things in and it keeps them cool. It has a space specifically for a laptop, plenty of room for a lunch box, a thermos, my water bottle, multiple textbooks, calculator, a4 binder, planner, pencil case and headphones. That obviously gets heavy, but it all fits with a little room to spare. It doesn't fit my workout gear in though, so I take that in a separate bag.
Make sure you sleep well the nights before your longs days. Sounds like a no brainer but learning makes you far more sleepy than working does. I've worked 12 hour shifts before, but I always find it far more difficult to do a long day of learning/studying and then go to work than I do working straight for that time. You need to sleep well or you'll crash and the long crappy days will end up feeling like they're for nothing because you won't take anything in.
Regarding the gym: do you have a gap during your day on a Monday that you could fit in a workout? Most of my timetables have had really decent 2-3 hour gaps in them, but I had one hellish one that had a class 9-10, 11-12, 1-2, 3-5 so the gaps were never long enough to workout. If you do have a decent gap, do your workout then instead of getting up earlier to do it. Your longer day will get a bit shorter plus exercising in the middle of a long day really perks me up and means I can focus more in the next lot of classes. If you don't have time to head to the gym, could you go for a run in that time? My university has changing facilities and showers available in many of the buildings, these are for staff and students to use if they cycle to uni or are runners or whatever. Some of them have lockers, some don't. Generally, the office staff in the building will happily keep your bags for an hour or so if you have no where else to put them. I was lucky enough to have my car though so I didn't need to do that very often.
Food: plan plan plan! Seriously. Make sure you're eating foods that will give you long term energy rather than foods that will give you a spike in your blood sugar every time you eat it. You'll be in for a really rough ride if you have a 12 hour day with continual highs and lows. My go to breakfasts were:
High-carb days: oatmeal with almond milk, raw cacao powder, banana and chia seeds
High-protein days: 3 slices of turkey bacon, scrambled eggs, avocado & cottage cheese. I would sometimes have this on toast if I was really hungry. (oops just remembered you're vegetarian, the turkey bacon could easily be subbed though)
Without seeing the breakdown of your day it's quite difficult to help with the food for the rest of the day. I'm also not sure on the eating rules at your uni, but here is what I did anyway:
Lunch: on a sunday night I'd make a big pot of vegetable soup, keep three portions in the fridge and freeze two. Each morning I would heat it up and put it in my thermos. My thermos keeps food hot for up to 7 hours (although it's realistically more like 9), so I could put the soup in the thermos at 7.45am and still have it hot at lunchtime, regardless of whether I ate lunch at 12 or 2. I would bring crackers to eat with my soup as it's usually about this time that I'd be craving something salty and crunchy, so crackers stop be reaching for the crisps. I would usually bring fruit too, just whatever I had handy on the day.
Dinners: I have two favourites to make, one is a mexican type salad, the other is a quinoa salad. Both include chicken but this could be omitted or subbed out for something else. Let me know if you want the recipes. These are great because they travel well, don't need to be refrigerated all day and can be eaten cold.
Snacks: nakd bars were a huge help to me. It was usually on the longest days that I'd crave chocolate, so chocolate orange nakd bars gave me the chocolate fix I needed whilst still keeping my energy level even rather than spiking it. Nuts, fruits and vegetables are also great snacks. Servings of nuts are small, so they don't take up much space but give you a decent energy boost and some are particularly good for your brain function (almonds, primarily). Blueberries are again small and good for brain function. I like to bring sliced bell peppers and cherry tomatoes too.
Someone above mentioned this, but I can't stress it enough: buy a reusable water bottle! Mine is 800ml and I love it. I drink 4-5 800ml bottles a day. It's crazy how much more awake and alert you feel when you're hydrated, so this is a really important one.
I've used this backpack since first year (third year now) and I love it. It has a pocket specifically for chilled food and drink so that you can put chilled things in and it keeps them cool. It has a space specifically for a laptop, plenty of room for a lunch box, a thermos, my water bottle, multiple textbooks, calculator, a4 binder, planner, pencil case and headphones. That obviously gets heavy, but it all fits with a little room to spare. It doesn't fit my workout gear in though, so I take that in a separate bag.
Make sure you sleep well the nights before your longs days. Sounds like a no brainer but learning makes you far more sleepy than working does. I've worked 12 hour shifts before, but I always find it far more difficult to do a long day of learning/studying and then go to work than I do working straight for that time. You need to sleep well or you'll crash and the long crappy days will end up feeling like they're for nothing because you won't take anything in.
Thank you all so much for your tips! They've been so helpful. GoingToBurst - that bag is lovely! I've been thinking about getting one so that I don't have to carry around multiple bags. Would this be a comparable bag to the one you've got? I'm currently torn between it and this one by Targus. Thoughts?
Original post by Palsied
Hello all! I'm going into my second year, and I've just been working out my timetable for this year and, dear oh dear, I'll probably end up being on campus from 9am to 9pm every Monday, as my student house is 45mins commute away from campus, so there's no point in me going home between lectures, and I then have an evening sign language class at the end of the day. I may also be going to the gym before class if I truly do want to suffer that day!
My point is is that I may end up leaving the house at 7-7:30am and not get back until almost 10pm. Does anyone have any tips for spending so much time at uni every day? I don't want to buy expensive campus food every day, so does anyone have any tips for packing lunch, dinner, and snacks for uni without impossibly weighing down my bag? Any good portable recipes for a vegetarian on the go? A bag I should buy? Anything I should 100% keep packed in my bag to make it a less painful experience? Please let me know!
My point is is that I may end up leaving the house at 7-7:30am and not get back until almost 10pm. Does anyone have any tips for spending so much time at uni every day? I don't want to buy expensive campus food every day, so does anyone have any tips for packing lunch, dinner, and snacks for uni without impossibly weighing down my bag? Any good portable recipes for a vegetarian on the go? A bag I should buy? Anything I should 100% keep packed in my bag to make it a less painful experience? Please let me know!
I had a 9-8 day I have a few tips make sure you eat enough during the day you'll need energy things like Pasta bake is good it can even be eaten cold make one and take it for lunch make sure you have breakfast eggs are good and should give you enough protean make sure you also have a bar of chocolate with you for a boost if you need it and stay well hydrated hope that helps oh and don't study that night.
Original post by Palsied
Thank you all so much for your tips! They've been so helpful. GoingToBurst - that bag is lovely! I've been thinking about getting one so that I don't have to carry around multiple bags. Would this be a comparable bag to the one you've got? I'm currently torn between it and this one by Targus. Thoughts?
The first one you linked to is even bigger than my one, so I'm sure it would be perfect! Mine is 25litre and that is 33litre. I would always always recommend Dakine bags because it has held up SO well. It honestly looks brand new and that poor thing hasn't had an easy life haha. The shoulder straps and back padding are really comfortable too. My friends thought I was crazy for spending almost £50 on a bag when they were spending about £20, but they're now on their third/fourth £20 bags and I'm still using the same one. It's an investment haha!
Original post by Cate1976
The Dakine backpacks look good, how big is the cooler section?
It's quite flat, but it actually holds quite a lot. I can get a 600ml reusable water bottle plus two 500ml water bottles and a few nakd bars in there. Or I can get my 800ml water bottle and my 1.2l sistema lunch box, cutlery and some nakd bars. My little fruit pot usually fits in there too. Or I can get my 600ml water bottle plus this lunchbox in (again with cutlery and nakd bars).
On days that I'm taking soup, I can fit my thermos and a smaller tupperware pot for another snack/meal. I can get my little cutlery set in there with some nakd bars too. I often carry my water bottle.
(pictures have been included so that you can see sizes, they aren't affiliate links or anything)
Oh my god, that pretty much sounds perfect for me tbh. I was just wondering what section of the bag you keep your textbooks etc in? In the laptop section? I'm also undecided between the 25l and 33l bags because they're basically the same price on Amazon, so I might get the 33l, but I don't want to look like a turtle.. Hmm. Just on matters of opinion, do you think this one's pattern is cute? I've started stationary and bits and bobs shopping already and I'm loving it.
Also, that little thermos is SO CUTE. Would you rate it?
Also, that little thermos is SO CUTE. Would you rate it?
Original post by Palsied
Oh my god, that pretty much sounds perfect for me tbh. I was just wondering what section of the bag you keep your textbooks etc in? In the laptop section? I'm also undecided between the 25l and 33l bags because they're basically the same price on Amazon, so I might get the 33l, but I don't want to look like a turtle.. Hmm. Just on matters of opinion, do you think this one's pattern is cute? I've started stationary and bits and bobs shopping already and I'm loving it.
Also, that little thermos is SO CUTE. Would you rate it?
Also, that little thermos is SO CUTE. Would you rate it?
I keep my laptop, textbooks and notebooks in the main section. The main zipped section has a padded pocket to keep my laptop in, so I put that in there and then my textbooks and everything else just go in the main bit.
I would get the 33l if I were you. The only thing I don't like about mine is that if I have a binder, my laptop, 3 textbooks, calculator, headphones etc then I can't fit a change of clothes in it too, so the bigger size might be good!
Ooh I really like that pattern actually, that's really cute!
I love the thermos, it is honestly a life saver, especially in the colder months. I need a hot meal in me at some point during the day so it's nice to be able to bring hot food to uni. I've taken meatballs and rice, curry, chilli, stew, soup, everything works!
Original post by Palsied
Oh my god, that pretty much sounds perfect for me tbh. I was just wondering what section of the bag you keep your textbooks etc in? In the laptop section? I'm also undecided between the 25l and 33l bags because they're basically the same price on Amazon, so I might get the 33l, but I don't want to look like a turtle.. Hmm. Just on matters of opinion, do you think this one's pattern is cute? I've started stationary and bits and bobs shopping already and I'm loving it.
Also, that little thermos is SO CUTE. Would you rate it?
Also, that little thermos is SO CUTE. Would you rate it?
Just had a look at the 33l one and the cooler section doesn't look as big as the cooler section on the 25l. The 33l would obvs have more space in general though.
edited to add: the dakine website has my backpack (25l prom) in really cute prints! Claudette and Alana are my personal favourite prints this season.
(edited 8 years ago)
Oh god, I've got a right issue now! I've found a really cute one in 25l prom on Amazon (here) and I just can't pick now! I just want all of them, haha!
Edit: I've just seen Claudette and Alana too and am so in love with them both, especially Alana. Why are you both ruining and improving my life?!
Edit: I've just seen Claudette and Alana too and am so in love with them both, especially Alana. Why are you both ruining and improving my life?!
(edited 8 years ago)
Why is your house so far away from uni?
Original post by Palsied
Oh god, I've got a right issue now! I've found a really cute one in 25l prom on Amazon (here) and I just can't pick now! I just want all of them, haha!
Edit: I've just seen Claudette and Alana too and am so in love with them both, especially Alana. Why are you both ruining and improving my life?!
Edit: I've just seen Claudette and Alana too and am so in love with them both, especially Alana. Why are you both ruining and improving my life?!
Hahaha my sincerest apologies! Let me know which one you end up getting
I'm a stickler for getting as much as I can for my money, so I'll probably end up getting the 33l campus I linked to earlier.. and then getting a prom in Alana when I can afford it! Honestly, I'm so in love with that bag, but it's like £12 more than the campus (because it's a newer pattern, I guess?), so I'll probably get the campus and then spend that £12 on accessories for it! I'm also crazy for your little flask so we'll just have to see if I can afford it because it's a little pricy!
Fellow vegetarian popping in!
I am going into postgrad now having taken a year or so out to work. Here's a few things I found incredibly useful to get through the day:
1) A thermos like the one someone posted above is incredibly useful. I love soups (they are so easy - stock, onions, garlic and veggies) and would make a huge pot every weekend, taking some to work every day. You can use freezer bags to freeze the soup in portions, and just take one out every evening to defrost overnight and heat up in the morning.
2) Quorn mince is good and freezes/reheats well, and if you like chili then that's also good to take in a thermos. I'd sub bread for the rice (naan bread or something similar). The same goes for spaghetti bolognase - but I've found that spaghetti isn't that great reheated, so use another pasta instead.
3) Salads - really simple and quick to make.
4) For energy boosters, I'd make mini peanut butter sandwiches.
The water bottle idea is great too. I think the key is to make sure you eat little but often - I rarely ate my soup all in one go, sipping throughout the day.
I am going into postgrad now having taken a year or so out to work. Here's a few things I found incredibly useful to get through the day:
1) A thermos like the one someone posted above is incredibly useful. I love soups (they are so easy - stock, onions, garlic and veggies) and would make a huge pot every weekend, taking some to work every day. You can use freezer bags to freeze the soup in portions, and just take one out every evening to defrost overnight and heat up in the morning.
2) Quorn mince is good and freezes/reheats well, and if you like chili then that's also good to take in a thermos. I'd sub bread for the rice (naan bread or something similar). The same goes for spaghetti bolognase - but I've found that spaghetti isn't that great reheated, so use another pasta instead.
3) Salads - really simple and quick to make.
4) For energy boosters, I'd make mini peanut butter sandwiches.
The water bottle idea is great too. I think the key is to make sure you eat little but often - I rarely ate my soup all in one go, sipping throughout the day.
Original post by Cathrela
The water bottle idea is great too. I think the key is to make sure you eat little but often - I rarely ate my soup all in one go, sipping throughout the day.
I was thinking about doing that, but I don't want to graze constantly! I'm more of a meal and snacks kind of gal, especially as I'm in the process of slowly losing weight.
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