I've been back at college for a few weeks and I'm starting to come to grips with it.  Also a lot of the plans I had for managing my college work / life balance have had a good run out now and some are really performing while others have not really got going.

Whats working:

Netbook

At the start of the year I picked up a Netbook, the Samsung N310 and it is fantastic, easy to carry around, hard working, great battery life - it keeps me online, in touch, and with all my files and college materials to hand.  There is generally free wifi around college, and outside of college free wifi can be found in many cafes in Dublin.  The Netbook gives me a lot of freedom when it comes to accessing the web as I'm not restricted to the library or the computer labs.  It allows me to keep in touch with my lecturers over the college email which I have set up in Thunderbird.  Thanks to Dropbox, I have access to all the notes I have been working on at home as my folders remain synced.  

Light, portable, hard working - the Netbook is already standing out as the top-tool for the college year and I'm only a few weeks in.  I am wondering if it will have the same impact on my internship when I start next week.

Bicycle

Cycling in and out of college each day was one of my main goals for the year.  I consider it to provide a number of benefits.  First it gives me great daily exercise - something which really declined after I dislocated my shoulder a few years ago and stopped playing sports.  Secondly it avoids the commuter crush on the bus.  I find that busses are particularly uncomfortable in the cold wet days of October - April in Ireland when outside it's cold and wet and in the bus it's crowded, hot and stuffy.  I much prefer cycling to that experience, even if it is cycling in the rain.  It also gives you time to unwind after college  and take your mind off what ever was occupying it, or to take some thinking time for a particular topic on the cycle home.  I find the exercise and time to yourself is quite a de-stresser.

So far I've been really enjoying the cycling in and out and I'm pretty confident that I'll keep it up throughout the year.

Daily reviews

I've been reviewing notes on a daily basis.  The day I get notes I take them home and type them up.  This second working of the notes helps me understand them and identifies any areas I am unsure of that I can bring up with lecturers.  It's also very satisfying to have typed notes filed away into folders and readily available if I need them, it feels good to get the work done.