A Guide to Getting Ahead in School Early in the Year

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Hi, this is Ray.

It’s the holidays. A magical time of year when your textbooks grow dust bunnies, your schedule grows mysterious “later” slots, and your brain proudly sets its status to: out of office.

And I get it. Rest is important. Your brain needs downtime to consolidate memory, recharge attention, and finally figure out what that professor meant 6 weeks ago. But here’s the catch…

Most people mistake absence for rest.

They turn two weeks off into two weeks lost.

You? You’re smarter than that. You’re here because you want to rest hard and come back stronger. And I’ve got you.

Let’s turn this holiday break into your academic growth hack… with science, strategy, and only one mandatory ugly sweater.

You Don’t Need More Time. You Need a Better Plan.

The average student spends more time planning to study than actually studying. (Ask me about the color-coded study schedules I’ve never followed.)

But here’s the good news: holiday breaks are short bursts of free space. That makes them perfect for low-pressure, high-return study sessions.

Research shows that learners who structure their study with short, spaced-out sessions during break perform significantly better than those who try to cram everything after school restarts. A 2021 study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that consistent self-regulated learners improved retention and test performance over winter break… even without direct instruction.

Translation: it doesn’t take 5 hours a day. It takes 30–45 minutes of smart, consistent work.

Take Advantage of the Spacing Effect

If you’ve followed me for more than 6 minutes, you know I’m obsessed with this: The Spacing Effect.

Spacing is the opposite of cramming. Instead of dumping info into your brain like it’s a Walmart clearance bin, you spread study sessions out over time. This makes your brain work harder to retrieve the info… and that makes it stick.

Spacing increased long-term retention by up to 15%, and worked across ages, subjects, and learning formats.

So don’t worry about doing everything in one sitting. Worry about doing something every other day.

Set the Holiday Learning Schedule (Without Losing Your Mind)

Here’s your flexible, no-guilt study flow:

• 2–3 sessions per week of 30–45 minutes

• Ideally spaced with at least 1 full day in between

• Include at least one full day off each weekend

• Use the mornings if possible… you’ll feel less distracted and more motivated (because your inbox hasn’t hit you yet)

This structure works because it matches your ultradian rhythm, those 90-minute focus/recovery cycles your brain runs on throughout the day. Study in short, focused blocks. Then go back to cocoa and Netflix.

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Use Retrieval Practice, Not Just Review

Holiday break isn’t for rereading notes while half-watching Home Alone 4.

It’s for retrieval.

Retrieval practice means pulling information out of your brain… rather than stuffing more in. Think flashcards, practice problems, teaching someone else, or writing from memory.

In one experiment, students who used retrieval remembered 50% more after a week than those who just reread notes. You can read the full study by Roediger & Karpicke.

So instead of underlining, quiz yourself. Or better yet, create questions you think your future teacher-self would ask.

Focus on Weak Points, Not Just Comfort Zones

It’s tempting to spend break reviewing things you’re already good at. It feels productive. It also wastes time.

Cognitive scientists call this the illusion of competence… we mistake recognition for recall. Just because you recognize a formula doesn’t mean you can use it in a new problem.

A better approach?

Use break time to tackle your “mental gaps”… the topics that make your brain groan and your coffee intake double.

A study on deliberate practice by Ericsson shows that performance improves fastest when you target your weakest skills with focused feedback.

Yes, it’s uncomfortable. So is growth.

Read Something Outside the Syllabus (Optional… But Powerful)

Want to really stand out when you get back to school?

Read one thing that’s related to your field… but not assigned.

Pick an essay, article, or book that connects to your topic in a new way. If you’re studying history, read a biography. If you’re in biology, try a science memoir. If you’re a business major, read Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes or Thinking, Fast and Slow.

This activates something psychologists call knowledge elaboration… linking new info to prior learning. It builds neural depth and makes you more likely to remember everything else too. There’s a great summary on elaboration at The Learning Scientists blog.

Also, it makes you sound amazing at post-holiday small talk.

Keep Your Brain Fresh with Strategic Rest

Yes, I said the “R” word.

Rest is productive. Not just in a recovery sense… but in a learning sense.

The science is clear: breaks, naps, and even short periods of quiet wakefulness help your brain consolidate memory. One study from PNAS found that 10 minutes of wakeful rest improved memory retention, because the brain replays and strengthens what it just learned. You can check the full study here.

So if you want to get ahead this break, don’t schedule every second. Leave time to wander, nap, and just be.

Your hippocampus will thank you.

Build a Learning Ritual You Can Bring Back With You

One underrated way to get ahead on break?

Use this time to build a mini learning ritual you can keep using during the semester.

It could be as simple as:

• Making tea before a 30-minute focus session

• Reviewing flashcards with your morning coffee

• Listening to one academic podcast on walks

The trick is consistency. When school starts back up, you won’t need to rebuild motivation. You’ll already have the habit wired in.

And no, I’m not saying you should “grind” through break. I’m saying: just keep the engine warm.

Final Thought

Most students treat break like a vacation from their brain.

The smartest ones use it as a time to sharpen the blade.

You don’t need to study all day. You don’t need a 14-step routine. You just need consistency, strategy, and a little willingness to be the one person not binge-watching your sixth Christmas rom-com.

Get ahead now, so you’re not playing catch-up later.

And hey… do it in your pajamas. I won’t tell.

Ray