Classes are back in session.

As the school year starts to get into full swing, student life can get busy and complex.  

Whether you’re studying full-time or part-time, juggling jobs and extracurriculars on top of school is a struggle — IGNITE understands.  

Although we can’t give you extra time or project extensions, we can do our best to make your student life easier.  

Here are some little ways to do just that: 

Keep a planner

We can’t add extra hours to your day, but we can help you schedule your time out intentionally.  

Keeping a planner is the best way to use your hours wisely. There are tons of free online calendars available — Apple, Google, Microsoft Calendars — whatever software you’re comfortable with, it has a planner for you.  

We recommend writing your schedule out on a paper planner and digital calendar. As much as we like to use our phones and computers for everything these days, incorporating handwritten calendars into your daily life can help with your memory. We’re typing all the time and, when typing out your weekly planner, it’s easy to go on autopilot and have no intention of remembering your plans.  

You can find the very best planner right on campus – for free! You can snag an IGNITE agenda online or at one of our offices: 

• the K building at the Lakeshore campus 

• KX202 at the North and UofGH campuses

Carry a water bottle

Staying hydrated is essential to getting through long school days.  

After all, if you don’t have enough nutrients and oxygen heading up to your brain, how are you going to function through three-hour lectures? Any water bottle will do — but if you struggle with forgetting to drink water, try one with timestamps! 

Now you have no excuses for being dehydrated.  

Bring snacks— always bring snacks 

When running from class to class — whether it’s on-campus or virtually — sometimes we forget to stay fuelled. So, packing your bag or cabinets with snacks is essential. 

Looking for something healthy? Vegetables and dip is a great staple snack. Try one of these combos next time you need a little extra fuel: 

• Carrots with hummus 

• Cauliflower with ranch 

• Tomatoes with guacamole 

The options are limitless. But if you prefer a sweet, protein-fueled snack, try a Clif Bar! They’re so easy to slip in your backpack and are super tasty. 

And, if all else fails, you can never go wrong with buttery microwave popcorn. 

Work in study groups

As tedious as studying can be, with the right study group you can make it fun! (Yes, we’re serious.) 

Get together with a group of students from your program and meet online, in a café or at a library. However, if you’re meeting in person, be sure to follow Toronto’s COVID-19 safety guidelines and wear a mask. 

Forming a study group is an easy way to make friends and it can help you hold each other accountable to learning your course material. You can test each other during sessions and use each other’s strengths to help each other out.  

If you can’t find people in your program to form a group with, try making one with students from other programs! Although you may be learning different material, it can be nice to learn about things outside your own field of vision. Plus, we all need a little company when sitting around in the library. 

And, if you’re learning online this semester, check out these tips for hosting the ultimate virtual study group. 

Catch some z’s

Yes, it sounds simple. But getting enough sleep is one of the largest challenges students face! 

Sleeping is vital to maintaining your busy student schedule. Although scrolling on TikTok or watching Netflix for hours after a long day of classes sounds relaxing, in many cases, it’ll interrupt your valuable sleeping hours.  

Balance your downtime and your sleeping time and try to get as much sleep as possible — we promise, it’s going to make getting up for early morning classes a lot easier.   

Leave your health and dental care to us

Did you know many of your medical needs are covered through part of your ancillary fees? 

As long as you’ve paid the IGNITE Health and Dental fee, IGNITE covers most of your prescription medication, vision care, dental care, accidents, and travel insurance through our Flexible Health and Dental Insurance Plan. 

But we know your health isn’t limited to you — your family’s health is equally important. So, you can add your spouse or children to your IGNITE insurance plan by going to WeSpeakStudent.com and selecting “Family Opt-In” under “Choose Your Plan.” 

Is your medical care already covered? No problem! We just want you to have access to the care you need. If that’s the case, you can opt-out of your entire plan or just the prescription drug portion at WeSpeakStudent.com.

If you want to make changes to your IGNITE insurance, don’t wait! The opt-in and opt-out period for the Fall 2021 semester closes Friday, Oct. 15. However, we encourage you to review your benefits before making changes to your plan — once you do, you can’t change it again until next year.  

Living the student life is tough. But, with these tiny habits, you can make it easier. And you’re not in it alone — IGNITE’s here to support you no matter what. 

Still stumped on snacks? Here’s how to make your favourites right at home! 

Follow IGNITE on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for all things student life.