Productive Things To Do Over Fall Break

Just because it’s Thanksgiving break, things don’t have to revolve around a turkey (or tofurkey if you are vegan/vegetarian!). The holiday is a great time to rewind, but also a good time to get things done, be it school work or not.

Connect with former bosses

Staying in touch with former bosses and maintaining good relationships with current ones can lead to many opportunities down the road. You may be getting a reference letters with nice comments, favorable LinkedIn recommendations and job offers. Sending e-cards or even hand-written cards wishing them a nice Thanksgiving can do wonders to your business relationships.

Get ready for (winter) internships

If you’ve been offered a position for the winter months, there is no better than Thanksgiving holiday to prepare yourself for an internship. The week off will give you ample time to go over and polish your resume, cover letters and business portfolio. While it’s tempting to stay up late and sleep in, this is also a good time to readjust your sleep schedule for the tough 9-to-5 office-bound days ahead. 

Go Shopping

Need a business suit? Haven’t bought gifts for friends and family yet? Take full advantage of all the discounts and sales going on. If you don’t feel like pushing and shoving other shoppers, going online on Cyber Monday is a way to go.

Schedule doctor appointments

Although University Health Center does an excellent job of keeping us healthy, there aren’t simply time to fit an 8 a.m. appointment in our busy schedules, or we don’t feel comfortable coming back for follow-ups to different doctors each time. Pay your doctor at home a visit and get yourself a health check.

Catch up with high school friends

For some of us, it’s the first long break home after a semester of college (can you believe your freshman year is halfway over?), for some it is the last Thanksgiving break as undergrad student. Schedule a sleepover with your old pals and share the highlights of your respective college lives over piping-hot apple cider.

Eat well

Hooray to home-cooked meals! Balancing cooking and school work is not easy, causing many off-campus students to resort to frozen meals and commuter meal plans. Dining commons food gets old pretty quickly, despite their effort to switch things up with new items here and there.

Send greeting cards

You may have friends who study abroad, family members who are not coming home and/or significant others who live far away. Taking your time to write cards can really show them how much you miss and care about them. Call me old school, but I really dig getting and sending hand-written cards.

Photo by Alex O’Brien