When Did Rest Become Something We Have to Earn?

Editor: Aleena Khan

It’s 10 p.m. You’ve spent the entire day attending lectures, studying for midterms, and attending club meetings. You’re exhausted and all you want to do is crawl in bed, forget your responsibilities, and doomscroll on TikTok. 

But the moment you sit down, that familiar feeling creeps in: guilt. 

You start thinking about the lecture slides you haven’t reviewed, an assignment due next week, and that midterm at the end of the week. 

Suddenly, what was supposed to be a relaxing evening is ruined by thinking about everything you could be doing instead. 

Sound familiar? 

Many university students have adopted the idea that rest is something we need to earn. We tell ourselves that we’ll relax after our midterm, after we finish that assignment, or after we’ve checked everything off our never-ending to-do-list. The problem? There’s always something more to do.

The Never-Ending To-Do List 

University cultivates a culture of being busy every hour of the day. Beyond attending lectures and completing assignments, students are encouraged to pursue research, join clubs, volunteer, and work part-time jobs to build their resumes. While these experiences can be incredibly rewarding, they can also create the impression that we must keep ourselves all day, every day. 

When we’re surrounded by endless ambitious and hardworking students who seem to have everything figured out, it’s easy to fall into the trap of comparison. This constant questioning of whether you’re doing enough gives way to a vicious cycle, and it makes it impossible to take a night off without worrying about falling behind.

The Problem With “I’ll Rest When I’m Done” 

How many times have you told yourself, “I’ll take a break once I finish this?” 

I know I’ve said it more times than I can count. 

Once one midterm is over, another assignment is due. Once that assignment is submitted, there’s a group project to work on. And once the semester is finally over, we’re thinking about summer jobs and research positions. 

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with being on top of it all, but it raises an important question: If we’re constantly waiting until everything is done to relax, will we ever actually rest? 

The problem is that constantly pushing ourselves without taking time to recharge can eventually take a toll on our mental and physical well-being. What starts as skipping a break to finish an assignment can slowly turn into burnout, increased stress, and less time for the people and activities that bring us joy. Before we know it, we’re so caught up in getting everything done that we forget to make time for ourselves.

Redefining What a Successful Day Looks Like 

One thing I’ve been trying to remind myself is that a successful day doesn’t necessarily mean completing everything I had planned to. 

Some days, success might look like finishing an assignment ahead of schedule, or taking the time outside of lecture to understand a tough lesson. Other days, it looks like getting through a tiring week and giving myself permission to slow down. 

Instead of measuring our time solely by how much we’ve accomplished, perhaps we should start asking ourselves something else: Did I take care of myself today? Did I spend time doing something I enjoy? 

These questions don’t undermine the importance of our academic goals. Rather, they remind us that our lives extend beyond them. University is such a unique period of our lives. We’re learning, growing, building friendships and exploring our interests. Yet, it’s easy to become so focused on the future that we forget to appreciate the now. 

You don’t have to exhaust yourself to prove that you’ve worked hard enough. You don’t have to be productive every second of the day to be successful. And you definitely don’t have to earn the right to rest.

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