I am aware of how the title of this article sounds, but hear me out. Sometimes, when I am in the middle of a tough exam season, all I find myself doing is schoolwork. For hours on end, I will sit in either the library or my dorm room studying without so much as a fifteen-minute break. While it’s probably not the most healthy approach to learning, it’s just how I operate. If you’re like me, you probably find this method to be effective for a little while, but it never seems to be sustainable. So while I suppose I’m not suggesting ways to procrastinate from studying, I am suggesting ways that you can spend that 15-30 minute break in between cram sessions. Without further ado, here are my five favorite ways to procrastinate:
- Play the Oregon Trail Game
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The Oregon Trail Game is not only a semi-popular card game, but you can also play it online. All you have to type is “The Oregon Trail Game” in your search bar, and it will probably come up as the first result. You can play as either the Banker, Carpenter, or Farmer on your way from Independence, Missouri to Willamette, Oregon. Along the way, you can make strategic choices for the survival of your five-person party. Will you make it all the way to Oregon, or will you starve on the trail?
- Reconnect with Nature
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Sometimes I forget what the sun feels like. After staring at a computer screen for upwards of six hours a day, it’s even hard to see sometimes. It’s important to take a break, touch some grass, and get some vitamin D. After taking a walk outside, I find that it is easier to take a fresh approach to the problems that I was trying to solve and the essays I was trying to write.
- Eat
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When exam season hits, it’s easy to become malnourished. I once forgot to eat for two straight days. By the time I got myself into a dining hall, I was feeling some serious food withdrawal symptoms. Taking a break, even to have just a light snack, is essential. You can’t operate at a 100% capacity if you’re also starving yourself. Take advantage of that meal plan and get yourself something to eat.
- Text Someone at the Bottom of my Contacts List
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This one is a little bit of a risk if you do not want to go down a rabbit hole, but I love keeping in touch with people who are far away. Whether it is family or old high school friends, sometimes I feel like there is no better time than the present to reach out and see how they’re doing. As I said, it’s best to do this when you have time to spare, but I have had some of the best conversations this way.
- Turn my Wifi off
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This might sound like reconnecting with nature, but I usually turn my wifi off for a specific reason. I love playing that little dinosaur game on the Google homepage. It’s so simple to access this game, too. Just type up “google.com” in your search bar, turn off your wifi, and hit the spacebar. Then you get to play as a dinosaur in the desert, hurdling cacti and dodging pterodactyls. You don’t necessarily have to play this game when you turn your wifi off, either. Just letting your brain take a little bit of a break from thinking hard can help you reassess your homework after you come back to it.