TOP TIPS FOR STARTING UNIVERSITY

Saturday

It's almost time for university to start again, and a lot of you may be starting for the first time. I am going into my final year this month and I wanted to share with you some of my the things you should know before starting university. Everyone has different experiences with uni, but I will be basing my advice off of the experiences I've had.

Graduates throwing caps

Tip 1: Before moving into your new place, see if there are any groups or group chats you can join beforehand for your halls or course or just uni in general. You might be able to get to know some people before meeting them and this can take so much pressure off if you have already kind of spoken to them online.

I joined chats when I was about to be a fresher and I actually met up with some of the people from the chat before starting uni. I wasn't going to live with them but this was so helpful because if I didn't make friends with my flatmates, I knew I had other friends to do stuff with. Ultimately, I got on so well with the majority of my flat.

Tip 2: Don't panic buy - Before starting uni, I did the classic Ikea trip and bought all sorts of stuff that I have never used, like a potato peeler. Have I ever peeled potatoes? No. That's just an example, you may well use a potato peeler but just think carefully about what you will actually use so you don't waste money. 

If you don't have something, you can always go and buy it. If you do have the opportunity to talk to your flatmates before moving in, it might be worth seeing what people can bring so you can share stuff. You will need to save all the money you can!

Tip 3: Buy some sliders! I tweet this one a lot because I wish I knew it before uni. Your kitchen floor probably will get messy quite quickly due to the amount of people living in your flat if you're in halls. The last thing you want to do is go into the kitchen barefoot or in socks and get something gross stuck to your foot. 

Also, fire alarms tend to go off pretty regularly so it's easier to just slip a pair of sliders on instead of spending ages putting shoes on. You will not regret investing in a pair for uni, and they have plenty in Primark to choose from if you're on a budget.

Tip 4: Forget about college - College is a pretty stressful time and uni can be stressful too, but it's so different to college so try not to compare the two. Use uni as a fresh start for yourself and just try to have the best time while you're there.

Tip 5: Try and be as organised as possible - There is a lot of stuff to do at uni and if you're moving away from home, there may be lots of things you want to get out of your new city. Just make sure you plan out your time for everything so you can work hard and play hard. Yes, you are there to get a degree but you may as well make the most out of where you're living and make the most out of uni life. Read more here about staying organised at university.

Are you starting university this year, or do you have any more tips for uni students? As I said, I am going into third year so if you have any tips for that, I will need all the help I can get.

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HOW I REACHED 10,000 MONTHLY BLOG VIEWS

Tuesday

This post contains affiliate links so I will earn a small commission when you buy through these links. Please see my disclaimer for more information. 

As a lot of you may know, I have been blogging on and off for over 4 years. It was kind of just a hobby for me as and when I felt like it, and it wasn't until the coronavirus lockdown until I started blogging regularly. After regular blogging since April 2020 and putting in more hard work, I am proud to announce that I received 10,700 blog views for July 2020. This is a massive success for me since in April, I had just over 1000 blog views for the month. Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading and supporting my blog over the last few months.


Celebration balloons


How did I achieve this?


I still wouldn't call myself an expert when it comes to blogging and I know that there are people out there with a lot more views than this. I am still always trying to learn more about it, but I'd just like to share with you how I got to 10k monthly views in the hope that I could help some current or aspiring bloggers. 

It's also important to keep organised and you can do this by using The ULTIMATE yearly blog planner from Of a Glasgow Girl.


Sharing my blog everywhere


After writing and publishing a blog post, I would promote it over every social media channel. I will create an Instagram story of the post, prompting people to click the link in my bio to see my blog. I will also share the blog on my Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and sometimes LinkedIn if it's relevant to my audience on there.


Twitter


The main source of my blog traffic comes from Twitter. I will share 3 blog posts a day on Twitter, including new ones and old ones. I schedule these posts using Buffer. Make sure to tag in retweet accounts when tweeting blog posts as the blogs will be retweeted and will reach more people.


Here are some of the blog post retweet accounts I tag:

  • @bournemouthbloggers and @sotonbloggers - make sure you use your local equivalent of this if there is an account for it. 
  • @bloggerstribe
  • @cosyblogclub
  • @BloggersHut
  • @theclique_uk

On Twitter, there are also daily blog post engagement threads that you can add your blog posts to. Post your blog on these threads and be sure to interact with other creators and comment on other blogs. I use threads from the following Twitter accounts:
  • @GoldenBloggerz
  • @unpredictedpage
  • @_kayleighzara
  • @cosyblogclub
  • @theclique_uk
  • @BloggerDreamsRT
  • @TRJForBloggers
  • @BloggersHut
  • @LaurenyLoves

Pinterest

I only started using Pinterest a few months ago and I am still learning lots about it, so I am by no means an expert. I managed to get my monthly unique viewers on there up quite rapidly but the clicks through to your blog is the main thing. Some people get most of their blog traffic from Pinterest so it's worth using for your blog.

Basically, you just need to create lots of pins for each of your blog posts to promote it on there. There are lots of useful guides out there about using Pinterest to attract traffic to your blog, I am still getting to grips with it at the moment but I managed to get over 100 views from Pinterest in July so it was a good addition.

Advice if you are starting a blog

If you are new to blogging, I would just say set aside some time to promote your blog as well as writing it. Consistency was the key to reaching my goals for me so just try and give yourself a routine.


I haven't spent lots of money on my blog and don't think you need to in order to be successful, it's just your personal preference in how you'd like to invest in it. Also, spend time trying to grow your social media too as the more followers you have on there, the more members of the potential audience you will reach by sharing it on there.

Once again, I'd like to say I'm not an expert and I am still learning about blogging every day. Let me know if you have any blogging tips that I've missed out, I'd love to know how you promote your blog!

Some extra blogging resources


Wool of the King

MOVING AWAY FROM HOME - AN INTERVIEW

Friday

This post is an interview with Robyn Moss, third year Psychology student at the University of Lincoln. Before her degree, Robyn was living in Salisbury, Wiltshire, but decided to move 3 and half hours away to Lincoln for university. Read on to learn about her experience of moving away from home.

1. Why did you want to move far from home?


Originally, I wanted to move far from home for university to have a fresh start and push myself to be independent, not having the option to easily escape my problems and go back home. Of course, I also wanted to reinvent myself and explore a totally new place.


Old building in Lincoln


Lincoln, however, was a very unexpected choice of mine as I only picked it to fill in my last choice for university.  I couldn’t think of anything else and I’d never actually heard of it before, but when I went to visit all of my uni choices, much to my surprise Lincoln happened to be the only uni that really felt like it was for me. If you have never visited, read all about how to spend 48 hours in Lincoln.


2. Were you worried about moving and why/why not?


I wasn’t really worried, I was more excited. The only thing in the back of my mind was, if there was an emergency, I wouldn’t be able to get home easily. Other than that, I didn’t really have any worries. I already knew I vibed with the city and any doubts I had were overruled by excitement. 


3. How long did it take you to settle into your new place?


I was pretty much settled the moment I moved in. Of course, it was hard for the first five minutes of watching my parents walk away, and not knowing when I'd see them again. However, you snap out of that pretty quickly due to not having time to dwell on it. You have to unpack, decorate your room and get to know your new housemates, so there’s no time to think about anything else. 


Bridge in Lincoln


You and your housemates are all on the same boat and it’s exciting for all of you and you support each other. I got on really well with most of my housemates to begin with which helped my feel settled initially but after a few days living with them, I realised they weren’t for me which was a struggle and did lead to me needing to change apartments. However, as soon as I found my group and created my own uni family, I felt settled again. 


I believe that the people you surround yourself with at uni are the key to settling and you won’t always be lucky at first, but there’s no harm in moving apartments if you don’t vibe with your initial flatmates. Most people manage to get on just fine though, it’s unlikely that you won’t get on with at least one person in your apartment.


4. Is there anything you would have done differently?


Not really. I’m grateful for the lessons I have learned, and any issues I had were out of my control. I do wish I’d been to more parties and gone to freshers events, but that wasn’t possible due to my job. I feel that I would have benefited a lot more if I’d have socialised more during freshers week as it took me a while to find my group of friends. Once I’d found them, my uni experience became 100x better.


Where to find Robyn

Instagram: @robynmossx


Thank you so much to Robyn for sharing her story. Have you ever moved far away from home? Let us know your experiences!


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Related Read: Top Tips for Starting University


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5 STEPS TO BECOMING MORE ORGANISED AT UNIVERSITY

Tuesday

This post is a collaboration with Planning with Em. This post also contains affiliate links so I will earn a small commission if you buy through my links. Please  see my disclaimer for more information.
As we approach the new academic year, it's time to get into the habit of preparing university life, or for another year of it if you are already a student. Em will be showing you how to work on productivity at university so make sure to read her post. Read on for tips on how to be an organised uni student!



1. Plan your time. 

While living at university, it can be hard to find the time to do everything you need to do. This is why planning ahead is a must. You should set yourself allocated time slots for all of the things you have to do - whether it's uni work, seeing friends, cleaning or cooking. 

Sometimes your dinner takes longer to cook than you first anticipated, then you start chatting to your flatmates in the time you should be doing an assignment. It's great to socialise but it's important to set time for projects too.

2. Use a diary or planner.

This follows on from planning ahead. In order to plan ahead it might be worth writing a to do list and keeping all of your deadlines in a diary. In my first year of uni, I had a notice board so I wrote a list of all my assignment deadlines in chronological order and pinned it to my wall so that I could see it every day.

You could also use a planner to split up how much time you will use for each project. For example, one hour of essay writing then one hour of Netflix watching for a break. If you need watch list inspiration for your chill time then I've got you.


3. Meal Plan.

As well as planning your time, planning meals is also a good thing to do to stay organised. This is some advice I need to listen to as well, because I am always unorganised with my dinners and just eat what I fancy that day. I am going to try and write a menu for the week though so I know what I'm eating each day and if I make evening plans, I will know how long my food takes to cook.






4. Budgeting. 

As we all know, student life can be expensive and sometimes leave you without a lot of money. That's why it's important to budget your money properly so you have enough, especially if you are like me and still like to live your best life at uni. 

If you have an income at uni, then limit yourself to a certain amount of spending per week. Once you have been at uni a while, you will work out how much you spend on shopping, nights out and anything else you need to buy. I would say try not to have no money at university and have a part time job where possible. Just because, if you are living in a completely new city then it's great to go and see all the things that city has to offer, as well as studying. I know sometimes this isn't possible but it's nice to be able to enjoy yourself too.


5. Keeping lecture notes organised.

You will have lectures with lots of different lecturers about different units, so it's helpful to keep these notes separate and organise them. When it comes to looking back at your notes, they will be so much easier to understand if they are neatly organised.

I tend to write the date and unit title at the top of my lectures and write the number of the lecture, e.g. Lecture 4 | Media and Society | 03/09/2020. This is probably obvious but it really helps me to remember what I learnt and when. Another good thing to do is to colour code the notes. You will spot the colour a lot more quickly if you are flicking through your note book to find something.

Are there any tips and tricks you have for keeping organised at university? Let me know as I am always looking for ways to stay organised. Be sure to check out Em's post on increasing productivity at university!

You can find Em over at:

Twitter - @planningwithem
Pinterest - planningwithem

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*Image 1 from Pixabay.
*Image 2 from Engin Akyurt on Pexels.