Rachel Cronin returns with the latest instalment of her advice column, Asking for a Friend.

I’m seeing my long-distance ex after 6 months. Help! My intense fling from last year lives down in London and I said I’d visit him next time I’m there. To quote Olivia Rodrigo, ‘I’m sensing some undertones’. He’s being really flirty but we’re only meant to be meeting up as friends. Am I reading too much into it or do you think there could still be something there?

My first response to this query is always going to be ‘why?’. It’s all fun and games doing something ‘for the plot’ until you’re crying in bed three seasons deep in your The Vampire Diaries rewatch. It’s too easy to get sucked back into something, especially if you’re not fully over it yet. If he’s flirting, it could mean there’s still something there for him, or that he’s just trying to see if you’re still invested. Are we forgetting which song those Olivia lyrics are from? It might be a bad idea, right?

Why have I left all my assignments and dissertation draft to the last minute? For the past four years I’ve always strived for academic validation and been a bit of an academic weapon. But I’ve just got back from my year abroad for Honours year and my work ethic has been slipping so much. I’ve only left myself a week to do my dissertation draft and stayed up till 6am on an overdue assignment. What can I do to get back to my old over-achieving self?

It’s so easy to lose your motivation, especially in final year. I’m honestly feeling the same at the moment after my year abroad. It’s a total shock coming back from skipping about on holiday for a year to writing a dissertation and dealing with Honours year workload. But organising your time, trying your best to start assignments early – try to do them little by little and give yourself a few extra days just to proofread them. We’ve all done a Monster-fuelled 12-hour shift in the library, but it’s so much better for your mental health and really makes your own life easier if you get started early. Good luck!

It’s cuffing season but I don’t want a boyfriend. Everyone’s getting cosy and doing cute christmassy things with their boyfriends, which is lovely but men suck. I don’t want that for myself after my recent breakup. Any advice on how to get through cuffing season single and unscathed?

The winter months can be tough for us singles, especially when Christmas market dates seem to be the benchmark for a successful festive season. Don’t let the couples fool you though; December is about so much more than relationships. Use this time-especially after assignments are over- to catch up with friends and family, eat too much and get merry. Go with the gals to the winter market – I almost guarantee you’ll have more fun than if you went with Hinge Guy 3.

Write in to lifestyle@strathclydetelegraph.com or DM us on socials to be featured in our next edition of Asking for a Friend. All submissions are made anonymous!