Midterm season is upon us. The workload is daunting and it may seem like the worst possible time to take a break, but it could be what you need most right now. Prioritizing self-care is always important, but especially so in stressful times like midterms. Filling your schedule with all work and no play is a recipe for disaster. The last thing you want is for your productivity to come to a screeching halt because you’ve burned yourself out.
Avoiding academic burnout can be so hard, not to mention balancing work, it can seem impossible—it’s not. Taking a break from your essays or lab reports can feel like a waste of time, but it will help you in the long run. At first, it might be hard to wrap your head around the importance of doing nothing, I know it definitely was for me. There are so many benefits to taking a break, not only for your academics but for your mental health as well.
Taking a night off from homework and making time to do things you enjoy can be a great way to recharge. Taking a step back from your workload to clear your head might just make things click when you return. It’s like when you’ve been staring at a puzzle for too long and can’t seem to find the right piece. If you don’t feel comfortable doing absolutely nothing for one day, which I totally get, limit yourself to just one assignment or set a homework “curfew” for yourself.
If it comforts those of you who are skeptics, you’re not really doing nothing. As college students it can be easy for us to put too much emphasis on our academics and not enough on our own wellbeing. Self-care doesn’t have to be an expensive spa day and massage, or an extensive skin and hair care routine. Self-care includes all of the things you love to do. It might be reading something that you find pleasure in and not because it was assigned in your syllabus. Catching up on your favorite show or finally being able to watch that movie you never got around to seeing in the theater because you were so caught up in your mountain of schoolwork. One of my favorite self-care practices is taking myself out for coffee and taking a walk off campus.
Once you have taken care of yourself, and it’s time to get back to your homework, you should be feeling like you’re ready to tackle your assignments, rather than fearing they’re going to tackle you. Doing nothing may be the key to getting everything done this semester.