Winter Break: The perfect time to rest, eat, and spend time with family around the TV. Having the opportunity to recover from the stresses of class is important, but don’t let your time away from the shop impact everything you’ve learned so far. Here are 5 things you can do to keep your mind engaged while you are on break.
Watch Videos on Topics You Are Interested About
Tomorrow’s Technician offers multiple technical training videos as well as livestreams about almost any topic that you can think of. Watch an old livestream, or even a couple short videos to keep yourself engaged on topics you may be planning to discuss once you’re back in class. Write down what you’ve learned after each video and look back at the end of the semester to see if you learned something while you were on break that was also discussed in class later on.
Take on A Mentor Role with A Student a Grade Below You
Is one of your friends in the class below you struggling with what they are learning in the shop? Politely ask them if they’d be willing to take you on as their mentor and teach them some of the things you excel at. Having a mentor can potentially boost their confidence in the shop and they can have you to thank for it. There may even be something that you can learn from the experience too!
Work On a Solo Project
Do you have an old car sitting in the garage that hasn’t started in ages? Do the brakes on your mom’s car need replaced? Maybe it’s time to put what you have learned to the test and see what you can achieve! You’d be surprised with how much you are able to accomplish and might even have something to gloat about when you return to the shop from break!
Work On Your Resume
Dust out your resume and get it looking its best. If you haven’t even started your resume yet, using your time during break could be the best time to do so. List out your best qualities and previous work opportunities. Have any ASE entry level certifications? Put those on there as well.
Work Ahead
Already know what you will be discussing in class once you’re back from break? Utilize your time off and practice the task on your own. If you gain something out of it, take your knowledge back to the shop and show off what you learned.
Instructors, its important you keep yourself engaged over break as well. Clean out the shop, plan for the semester to come.
Your time off on break can be used two ways. You can either maximize your time in front of the TV or you can stay engaged and give yourself a leg up in the shop once break is over. With the tips I gave you, I hope you know how to stay engaged over break!
