Daniel Wong

Equipping Students to Be Successful and Happy

40 Productive Things to Do During the School Holidays

Updated on March 20, 2023 By 77 Comments

Students

Exams are over and school’s out.

And students around the world are thinking to themselves, “Now what am I going to do with all of this free time?”

Sure, there are games to play, movies to watch, and friends to hang out with.

But there are also plenty of productive things to do during the school holidays.

So I’ve come up with this list of 40 meaningful things to do.

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1. Reflect on the semester gone by.

Take out a sheet of paper and answer these three questions:

  • What did I do well in the past semester?
  • What did I not do so well in the past semester?
  • What will I do differently in the coming semester?

2. Set process goals for the coming semester.

This is a follow-up to Point #1.

Set process goals for the coming semester instead of performance goals, because process goals are far more effective.

What’s the difference between the two types of goals?

Process goals are what you intend to do, while performance goals are what you intend to achieve.

Here’s an example.

Performance goal: Get an A for math next semester.

Process goal: Do three extra math questions every day after dinner.

By setting process goals, you’re more likely to take action than if you only set performance goals.

So take some time and set 5 to 10 process goals for the coming semester.

3. Watch educational YouTube videos.

YouTube

Here are a few of my favorite educational YouTube channels:

For more suggestions, check out this Mashable article.

4. Watch documentaries.

You can watch thousands of high-quality documentaries for free at Documentary Heaven.

5. Get a job.

Don’t worry too much about what the job will pay. As the saying goes, “Take a job for what you will learn, not for what you will earn.”

This is especially true when it comes to school holiday jobs. The best learning experience might just come in the form of an unpaid job or internship.

6. Learn a new language.

Visit these websites and learn a new language:

7. Find a cause you care about.

The school holidays are a good time to give back. Find a cause you care about, and start thinking of ways to support that cause.

Then read this article, which lists 10 ways to support a good cause.

8. Volunteer.

As a follow-up to Point #7, find a practical way to serve and contribute. You could volunteer to clean up the beach, help out at a nursing home or animal shelter, or deliver meals to the elderly.

9. Improve your physical health.

You have more time during the school holidays. So this is a great opportunity to start sleeping well, exercising regularly, and eating healthily.

10. Learn a new skill.

Skill

You could learn skills like…

  • Public speaking
  • Cooking
  • Drawing
  • Self-defense
  • Negotiation
  • Listening
  • Positive thinking

11. Read.

I strongly recommend that you read these five books:

12. Take an online course.

There are thousands of online courses to choose from on Coursera and Udemy.

13. Build or fix something.

Fix a broken fan, build a computer, or make a table. These are skills that will come in handy in the future.

14. Visit museums.

A trip to a museum will make you more knowledgeable, and you’ll probably leave feeling inspired too.

What’s more, it’s typically free (or cheap) to get in.

15. Start a business.

Startup

You could start something small like a …

  • Babysitting business
  • Dog-walking business
  • Pet-sitting business

Or you could think big like these 12 kids, who have built million-dollar businesses in arenas like app development, online advertising, fashion, and hair products.

16. Learn to manage your money.

Money management is a valuable life skill. Get started by checking out the resources at Practical Money Skills for Life.

17. Pick up a new hobby.

You will probably feel bored at some point during the school holidays. That’s the time to pick up a new hobby like…

  • Juggling
  • Gardening
  • Playing the ukulele
  • Dancing
  • Photography
  • Stargazing

18. Sell the things you aren’t using.

I’m sure you own many things you aren’t using, which other people would be willing to pay for.

So hold a garage sale, or put the items up for sale online.

19. Visit a nearby college or university.

Whenever I visit a college or university campus, I feel a sense of excitement. Colleges and universities are so full of youth, passion, knowledge, and potential.

This school holiday, visit one in your area. Learn about the courses and programs offered, and get a feel for the campus culture.

You might just leave the campus with a clearer vision of your future plans and goals.

20. Achieve an athletic goal.

Physical training

Take Point #9 a step further and work toward a specific athletic goal.

Here are some examples:

  • Do 15 pull-ups in 30 seconds
  • Do 50 push-ups in 1 minute
  • Do 60 sit-ups in 1 minute
  • Run a mile under 7 minutes
  • Hold a plank for 2 minutes

21. Reconnect with friends and family members.

Reconnect with friends and family members whom you didn’t get to spend much time with during the school term.

At the very least, send them a text or email to show them that you’re thinking of them.

22. Enjoy nature.

Go for a hike, have a picnic, fly a kite, or visit a nature reserve.

23. Learn about a country or place you don’t know much about.

The world is an amazing place filled with fascinating countries and cities.

This school holiday, take some time to learn about the history and culture of a country or place you aren’t familiar with.

24. Improve your vocabulary.

Students’ success in school and life is linked to the size of their vocabulary, the research indicates.

I’m sure you want to be successful, so use these three resources to improve your vocabulary:

25. Improve your writing skills.

Writing skills are important for academic success, and they’re even more important for career success. So work on your writing skills this school holiday.

Read this excellent article on how to improve your writing. Next, read at least one of these books and put into practice what you’ve learned:

26. Declutter.

Give away books and notes you no longer need, and files you no longer use. In addition, clear your desk and get organized.

This way, you’ll set yourself up for a fruitful upcoming semester.

27. Develop healthy habits.

Good habits

Nathaniel Emmons once said, “Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters.”

These are possible habits to develop this school holiday:

  • Daily reflection
  • Reading for 15 minutes before bed
  • Keeping a gratitude journal
  • Getting on a regular sleep schedule
  • Drinking more water

28. Read articles on how to become a happy, successful student.

Read these articles:

29. Learn about your family history.

By doing this, you’ll discover interesting things about your family.

Not only that, research indicates that people who know their family history tend to have higher self-esteem too.

30. Learn time management skills.

Get started with these three resources:

31. Watch Khan Academy videos.

This school holiday, brush up on your math, science and humanities by watching Khan Academy videos.

(Here are my tips if you’re trying to get better at math.)

32. Increase your reading speed.

The faster you read, the faster you learn.

Improve your reading speed by checking out this resource and this resource.

33. Try out geocaching.

If you don’t know what geocaching is, check out this page.

It’s a fun and educational activity!

34. Clear your email inbox.

Email

Over the past semester, your email inbox has probably become flooded.

You may even have hundreds of emails that have yet to be processed or organized.

If this describes you, then read this fantastic article by Michael Hyatt and implement his tips.

35. Talk to as many adults as possible about career options.

It’s never too early to start thinking about your future career.

Reach out to your relatives, family friends, teachers, and neighbors. Offer to buy them a cup of coffee, and ask them if they’d be willing to share their experiences and insights.

Set a goal for this school holiday of talking to at least one adult a week about career options.

36. Create a personal website.

Your chances of getting into that program you’re applying for – or getting that job or internship – will be higher if you have a personal website.

Your chances will be even higher if your website looks as beautiful as this one, this one, or this one.

I recommend using the WordPress platform for your website; here’s a complete website setup guide. And don’t worry, you don’t have to create your website from scratch. You can find over 60 free, professional-looking WordPress themes here.

37. Increase your typing speed.

In all likelihood, as you get older you’ll need to do more typing on your computer.

Explore these three websites to increase your typing speed:

38. Create checklists.

For the tasks you perform repeatedly, create checklists so that you’ll save time in the long run.

For example, you could create a checklist for the things you ought to do…

  • Every day when you get home from school
  • When you start preparing for an exam
  • Every weekend as you prepare for the upcoming week
  • When you’re packing your bag
  • Before you take an exam
  • To reflect on your life periodically

39. Find a mentor.

A good mentor will help you become more self-aware, make better decisions, and find long-term success.

This Forbes article provides practical tips on finding a mentor. I also offer a 1-to-1 coaching program to help teens become happy and successful.

40. Write thank-you notes.

Thank you

Many people say “thank you” via text message or email. But few people write actual thank-you notes. This school holiday, become one of those people.

Make a list of the people who have helped you in one way or another the past semester: friends, teachers, relatives, and family members.

Write each of those people a thank-you note. Then either mail the note to them or give it to them in person.

The bottom line

It’s impossible to do all 40 things described in this article. Besides, I know you also want to have plenty of fun this school holiday.

So don’t feel overwhelmed.

Instead, develop a realistic plan. (To do this, use the planning worksheet available at the end of the article.)

As you follow your plan, I’m confident that you’ll have a meaningful, productive and fun-filled school holiday!

Like this article? Please share it with your friends.

FREE BONUS

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Enter your email below to download a step-by-step planning worksheet as a PDF. This planning worksheet will help you to have a productive school holiday!

Comments

  6. yukino fuji says

    this is cool.thanks for the idea.by the way,i need help.im 16 this year and i will be sitting for a big exam(sijil pelajaran malaysia) next year(2016).for this holiday,im planning to start studying so that i can be more prepared next year.can u please give me some tips on where to start,how to start and how can i be more focused studying during holiday? ill be grateful if u could help me with this.thanks 🙂

    Reply

  12. Amir Peter Philip says

    Hi Daniel Wong ,thanks a lot for the efforts you did to equip students with various skills and directing them on how to be successful. I am a secondary school student, and in fact I have faced a lot of challenges especially this year in my education. I was discouraged due to some factors, interrupted and so many.But I was directed by my colleague to visit Daniel Wong and get solutions to such problems. I benefited a lot from most of your articles.

    Thanks a lot!

    Reply

  13. Atiz melio says

    I really bless with those ideas… You just set me up on date about what I to do… Thankz my holiday will be successful and believe what you say really enspire me deep in my heart.. Thankz

    Reply

  14. Aaron says

    I wanna thank you, for putting this creative article together to make us a happy and successful student, Thank you and God bless you.

    Reply

  17. Ananya says

    Wow, these ideas are so focused on stuff to encourage a successful future for any student! Just the kind I was looking for. I don’t think you could get more productive than that! Thanks the for the suggestions.

    Reply

  27. dinesh keshav kadam says

    really helpful ideas. me as a parent was such searching on website to keep my daughter busy after college holidays. this article is very helpful and tried to cover all topic carefully and with sincere efforts.

    thank you very much

    Reply

  28. Bamifemi says

    Whoa! This is beyond what I’ve searched for. It’s just perfect. Lots of beautiful ideas. Thank you so much Daniel.

    This is really nice! It’s the best answers to how to spend an holiday that I’ve found on the internet yet.

    Thank you!

    Reply

  29. Kiki says

    Normally on websites, you’d find things like go to the beach and la di da but this website actually focused on the other side of the holidays, studying and catching up. Thank you so much for this!! Helped me heaps!

    Reply

  30. Scarlet says

    What an inspirational list. I hope my daughter thinks so too when I share it with her! But seriously, even for me it makes me excited to go learn or do something new!

    Reply

  32. Shannon says

    Very insightful post, Daniel! I agree that learning should never stop during semestral breaks but learning should become more fun and flexible then. Students could learn new skills that are not included in their curriculum or they could simply learn how to make life more fulfilling and enjoyable by doing what they love or by practicing their talents more! School holidays means more bonding with the family too and students could spend most of their time at home, helping their parent with chores or showing their love and care to their siblings and parents!

    Reply

  33. Snow says

    It help me a lot to improve in learing for me during the holidays. I got to know more online course from this website and it make me to be more professional the area that I specialized.

    Reply

  35. Toni says

    I have to say Mr Wong, this is a surprisingly well put article and you deserve a big THANK YOU for all the hard work you put into this.

    Reply

  36. Lisa says

    Thank you Daniel, this is just what my daughter needs . She is going through an extremely difficult time and she can really do with your inspiration list.

    Reply

  37. Pudisa says

    Huh this really awesome article. Thank you for post an article like this. This really help me to spend my time on holiday.
    Thank you so much 💜

    Reply

  40. Aadrika says

    Hi ….I really really loved your ideas …..can you please suggest me some books or articles for how to become a good teenager

    Reply

  42. Rekha aggarwal says

    Can you suggest something to get rid of my short temper and preventing me from becoming an introvert

    Reply

  45. Adams Victoria says

    Thanks for posting your article
    It’s going to help me a lot
    Learning something new before the new semester

    Thanks so much

    Reply

  49. Gene says

    This article is inspiring and helpful. I’ve realized there’s much I can do as a student. Thanks

    Reply

  51. Georgie Shibu @YT says

    This is so great. I am not able to do some of them as I am in quarantine. But I will do all the other things. I am going to make my vacation fruitful. Thanks a lot Daniel Wong!!!

    Reply

  58. Sumisha says

    My son just entered IX grade and holidays are coming up due to Corona. I was wondering how to help him utilize his time properly and I found this article. Thank you so much Daniel.

    Reply

  60. Dentist Parramatta says

    Your article is such an informative article. It is glad to read such articles. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  63. Thara says

    Hi. This is a useful post. I took my young child to a library in town during the recent half term last month in order to escape my usual routine at home. We went to another town in the car in addition. We wanted to take a look at the shops and have a nice meal in a riverside pub too. We had a dance party at home as well with white wine for me one night and watched a family movie. We played mini golf. We even did a lot of baking and art and craft activities on top of that. We read so many books. Best wishes. We had a Valentine Day lunch too to celebrate.

    Reply

  65. Thara says

    Heya.

    I love your post. You can even have a nice picnic with the children at home in order to save money. Otherwise you can take them to a cinema downtown in addition with cups of hot chocolate or sweet popcorn bags in tow. You can even decide to watch a movie on the cheap all late at night to make ends meet. You can even teach them how to bake up a few biscuits, pies and cakes on a tray. Always a good idea. Try it.

    This is always a classic option to try. Good luck. Alternatively you can opt to visit a farm shop to do a weekly food shop. You either can choose to take a road trip to a decent family beach. You can aim to simply spend the whole day out at a fun museum or art gallery in question as well. As a family you can have more fun shopping. Instead of going to a bookshop use your local library to find books. This is always worth a shot.

    Reply

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