If you’re like me, you are always moving. You have four meetings this week, class non-stop, activities and events you need to be at for the organizations you are involved in, you never stop. Because I am constantly moving from one thing to the next, something I can’t wait for is winter break. It starts after finals, so you literally have no school work to worry about for an entire month, while you relax and sit at home binge watching several Netflix series that you couldn’t catch up on during the semester.

However, because of my busy nature, I can never lay around for too long. I can usually go about a week before I start getting restless and did to be productive again. Here are some simple things that you can do over break that will catch you up in life, but thankfully aren’t school.

1. Apply for internships

During the busyness of the school semester, it can be hard to focus your attention on filling out applications for internships. You already have so much work today and now an application wants you to write an essay, give work samples and get several letters of recommendation. Applying for all the internships you have had your eye on over winter break will get you caught up in the professional world, and now you don’t need to worry come spring. (This goes for applying for scholarships too!)

2. Volunteer

Community service is something that I love doing, but simply don’t always have the time for during the semester. Unless it is purposely built into my schedule, I usually am running to a different meeting. Winter break is the perfect time to partake in some volunteer opportunities around your area.

3. Read

I have an endless amount of books that I am constantly adding onto that I plan on reading someday. During the semester, I find it close to impossible to work in leisure reading time; however, winter break I can spend a few days only reading books and no one can do anything about it. It is the perfect time to catch up on all the books you’ve been dying to read. If you aren’t much of a reader, the same thing applies for movies you’ve been wanting to watch.

4. Plan schedule for next semester

Winter break is the perfect time to plan out your future classes if you haven’t already. I know for me personally, I am adding a major, so winter break is the perfect time for me to fit all the new classes into my schedule and plan accordingly for the future. Getting the logistical school nonsense out of the way over winter break will make transitioning into spring semester a lot easier.

5. Schedule all necessary appointments

Especially if you are far away from home for school, appointments back at home can get annoying. Scheduling all your appointments for winter break will knock them all out of the way, and hopefully you won’t have to worry about them for spring. It may not be the most exciting thing to have an eye appointment, doctor’s checkup and dentist appointment all in one week, but at least they’re out of the way.