Developing a Routine
“The Disability Service really helped me to deal with college work and to maintain a healthy work-life balance this year. I really appreciated the support from the Occupational Therapist and the services available to me.”
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A big part of the transition to higher education for both undergraduates and postgrads is getting used to new routines and timetables, which may not be as structured as you have previously been used to. Students need to start to plan out their time to get to all their lectures, while also having time to do all the other important things in student life.
This may include:
- UniLink Self-Management Programme
- Understanding my timetable
- Organising my free time
- Balancing academic and non-academic time
- Being on time for things
Unlink Self-Management Programme
The Unilink Self-Management Programme is specifically designed for college students, and involves the OT and student reviewing the student’s current routine and the daily activities within it. The OT and student identify personal and practical strategies to help engagement in various parts of college life, and how to respond if you are finding it difficult to do your day to day tasks. The programme was developed by OTs within the service here in Trinity.
The programme has six sections which the OT and student work through together:
Introduction and discussion of core concepts of the programme
Section 1: Identifying the things that I need to do to engage in my student role and to look after my health
Section 2: Identifying the things that may contribute to my not engaging in my student role
Section 3: The signs that I am not engaging in my student role.
Section 4: Personal and Practical Strategies for engaging and re-engaging in my student role
Review of the programme and future use of strategies learned.
That’s what we did in Occupational Therapy in the end. We worked on self-management, identified my main anxiety triggers and challenges in life, talked about methods for early detection and countering, and otherwise worked on basic self-care strategies, routine and structuring.