Every person deserves a break. During this thriving project season and with finals just on the horizon, there is an overabundance of people working themselves past their limit. The stress that takes over a person will get to the point where you will no longer have the energy of completing important tasks, let alone simple tasks. No matter how many energy drinks you ingest, your energy will continue to deplete, and your mental capabilities will deteriorate. At this point, all you can think about is how you have no time to do everything you need to do and that will cause even more frustration. During this time when you believe you must rapidly finish everything on your to do list, I implore you to take a break.
A break can involve anything, depending on the person. Some good examples are reading a nice book, watching that recently added Netflix original show, or taking a soothing bubble bath with a moisturizing face mask; a personal favorite of mine is eating some warm food with a big nap following it. At the peak of someone’s stress, any of these activities might seem like a waste of time, however they can be the opposite and benefit you greatly.
If you were to just keep on an exhaustive study/work grind, both your mind and body will begin to tire, and the overall quality of your work will deteriorate. Taking a break will allow your mind to rest and your body to recuperate. Also, breaks are beneficial when you are struggling on one topic for a substantial amount of time and just can’t seem to understand the subject at all. One of the best things to do in that situation is to take a break and eat a snack then work on something else of lesser difficulty before going back to the topic. When you go back you will be able to look at it with a new perspective and usually be capable of finally solving the problem and understanding what is going on. So, take a minimum of 30 minutes to recuperate and you won’t regret it.
If the thought of taking precious studying time out of your day still seems worrying, then a good idea would be to schedule your breaks when you set up your weekly schedule. Doing this will allow you to be more in control of when you relax, so that you won’t worry as much on an upcoming deadline. Scheduled breaks will also serve as a nice incentive to get through what you are studying at that moment. Now as exams slowly encroach upon us, remember taking a relaxing break will improve your study grind experience.