Hello again,

I hope that everyone is staying calm and going well with their exams. Some of you may have finished your exams, and submitted your final assignments. For others, you may still be a few short days away from the finish line. Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that you can find comfort that you have reached the finish line for the trimester or it’s very close in sight.

Now it’s time to start thinking about rewarding yourself. I know that rewarding yourself may feel self- indulgent but research suggests that creating a healthy reward system for yourself can help to maintain positive habits. Some of you may have heard of operant conditioning – one of the basic concepts of this is that if your behaviour is followed by a desirable outcome, you are more likely to repeat that behaviour. This is known as positive reinforcement.

With this in mind, think of something that you love to do – a TV show you love a watch, dinner at your favourite restaurant, a glass of wine with a cheese platter to match – and be sure to reward yourself when you wrap up the trimester. After all, it’s healthy!

What is your favourite way to reward yourself at the completion of the trimester? Please share your reward tips in the comments below.

P.S. I’m going to follow my own advice and take a little break from the blog over the holidays. I will return with some more top tips a week before the start of next trimester where I’ll be talking all things organisation.