With the crazy amount of reading and papers that we get assigned, the logical way to schedule your day is to go to class, go home, do homework until you’re finished and then hope that it’s early enough for you to get a decent amount of sleep. Unfortunately, that’s not exactly reasonable and certainly not enjoyable. While it’s great to be disciplined and dedicated to your studies, you can’t go through an entire five-day week without having some fun; unfortunately, weekends aren’t long enough for that. Instead, choose to ignore your stress for just a bit and practice self-care.
For me, what I missed most during school weeks of almost nonstop homework was just doing what I enjoyed. As much as I just love reading scholarly articles, I would much rather sit down and watch a movie with a friend or watch an episode of my favorite show on Netflix. More than just being relaxing, these are things I want to do—they make me feel like myself. Only doing what other people have assigned you to do isn’t any way to go through your day and definitely not your life. While you can try to stick it out and power through for four years, that’s a lot of life to waste.
Don’t lose yourself in trying to do it all. Your identity as a student does not have to define you. There was a you before college and before you got assigned a million papers and a thousand pages of reading—focus on that part of you, on growing and thriving as a person rather than simply a scholar.
The important thing is to do what you want every once in awhile—spending your study break at the gym might be a good idea, but maybe a trip to get ice cream with your friends is what you need to get your dose of happiness. Work toward your best self, but also your happiest self.
So work hard, but don’t destroy yourself. If you need a break, taking one will just make your work easier later on—as well as better. Sometimes a break even means giving up for the night and hitting the hay. Maybe you can get that essay done in one night, but we all know that the 3 a.m. version of ourselves is not always the most trustworthy. Let yourself off the hook, get some sleep and enjoy yourself. You deserve it.