You’re lazing on the beach, one hand draped over your eyes to block the sun, the other idly sifting through the warm sand. The summer scene is almost perfectly serene—except for a faint ringing sound in the distance. At first, you’re able to put it out of your mind. But as the sound slowly comes into focus, you can’t ignore it anymore. Finally, the harsh ringing persuades you to make the mistake of finally opening your eyes. You wake up to find yourself staring back at your buzzing alarm clock—you’re not on a beach at all! In fact, it’s Monday morning and you’re almost late for your first lecture of the day.
Although abounding advertisements for back-to-school supplies have given us months of warning about the start of the school year, it can be difficult to let go of the summer.
As a York University employee, I’m probably obligated to tell you that back-to-school is the most wonderful time of the year. But as a student, I know that getting back into the swing of things can be tough- especially now that Zoom University is closed- and we have to get out of bed to attend classes. That’s why the LA&PS Voices team and I have created a collection of tips and resources for sliding back into the school year with ease.
Listen
Back to School Bops
Your daily commute is the perfect opportunity to get into a positive headspace for the day. Tomorrow morning, soundtrack your drive or subway ride to our carefully curated back-to-school Spotify playlist, sure to cure your back-to-school blues.
Make
If you’re anything like me, you like to sleep for as long as possible in the morning, meaning that you often skimp on the most important meal of the day. These muffin tin egg breakfasts are perfect for those of you who don’t have the time (or energy) to fry up an egg on a busy morning and need something that you can grab as you’re heading out the door.
Muffin Tin Breakfast
Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients:
- 8 Eggs
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup chopped purple onions
- 1 cup diced veggies of choice (suggested: peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms)
- A pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350° F
- Cover a muffin tin with olive oil
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs
- Stir in veggies and add salt and pepper to taste
- With egg and veggie mixture, fill each muffin cup about 3/4. If you do not use every muffin cup on the sheet, be sure to fill the empty cups halfway with water
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until egg cups are firm
- Remove from oven and let cool
- Enjoy!
Microwave for about 20 seconds to reheat. The egg muffins will rise as they bake but will “deflate” after they cool off. If you want to change things up, try adding salmon, bacon, or cooked quinoa to your egg muffins!
Consider
Here’s how to curb your phone addiction without going cold turkey.
- Check social media on your laptop, rather than your phone. When I want to get my social media use in check, I delete apps like Instagram and Facebook from my phone and only check my socials on my laptop.
- Ditch your phone calendar. Did you know that writing things down, rather than typing them, helps us to retain information better (Umejima 8)? To
rremember events in your schedule, replace (or, at least, compliment) your digital calendar with a physical one.
- Use an alarm clock instead of an alarm app. Checking out the latest celebrity scandal or disheartening news story while your vision is still bleary is not an ideal way to wake up. Try using an alarm clock and storing your cell phone in another room overnight for a better start to your morning routine.
Source: Umejima, Keita, et al. “Paper Notebooks Vs. Mobile Devices: Brain Activation Differences During Memory Retrieval.” Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, vol. 15, 2021, pp. 634158–634158.
Aaaand that’s a wrap! I hope that you enjoyed our first article from LA&PS Voices! Check in with us every Wednesday for more ideas and advice.
Until next time, Lions!
India
Editor, LA&PS Voices