And maybe not feel so bad about it either.
This one’s for the workaholics and perfectionists like me. Imagine you’re in a world filled with nothing. Everything has ceased to exist but yourself. There are no midterms, no exams to study for. No assignments, no calendars filled with things to do. No more tedious group projects, dead essays on topics you have no interest in, researching a subject that has no credible sources, or typing out your findings in a dreadful wait of “when will this be over?” Now, you have all the time in the world to do absolutely nothing. Just like how you wished. To be free, yet now it feels like you’re almost too free…
After finishing my very stressful midterm, I was fantasizing about this very thing while commuting. Thus, the entire way home, I pledged; “I’ll take a little break and then begin studying for the next test.” It took me exactly the second I got home to forget that, and instead, I opened Minecraft and spent five hours building a cottage. As much as I want to feel bad – I don’t regret it one bit. Even when I have another midterm next week. How? Let me, The Master of Doing Nothing make you familiar with something you’ve probably felt too; the sweet sensation of finally easing your mind to relax, yet also feeling the seeping guilt that plunges you into cold water. Relief because you can finally stop thinking about chasing the next grade and stop planning, but guilt because the silence genuinely feels like something is off after working so hard. It feels like a lack of progression – like you’re wasting time just by allowing yourself to stop and breathe. But that deep breath is essential to be able to run again.
Even after telling myself I earned a break, halfway through hour 3 of Minecraft, I suddenly felt a part of my brain remember and peep: “Shouldn’t we be studying right now?” Well, if I studied for an entire week and spent only five hours on a game, why do I feel so much guilt? It’s insane how giving yourself a break is overlooked with how fast paced everything is, especially when everything seems so serious in university. The weight of being an adult piling up high on your shoulders; the bar that not only others, like your parents and family have set for you, but the expectation of your own excellence. Think for a moment, what exactly is your source of anxiety that makes your mind beg to push through and rise above everyone else? Is it because of your own goals, your family pressure, or the competitive cousin you’re compared to at dinner parties? It can be a different reason for everyone. But we all risk the same thing, an even scarier nightmare than failing it all: BURNOUT.
Burnout is the reason you studied so hard for a test and ended up not doing nearly as well as you deserved. I’m clearly speaking from experience. Burnout and anxiety are so interlinked that anxiety without productivity can lead to severe apprehension that can even interfere with your daily life. As such, the danger of burnout is that it’s incredibly difficult to push out of it. This is all because your body is like a machine. It’s genuinely impossible to keep your brain productive after overloading your system and exhausting your head from working so hard all the time. You feel good when you submit an assignment, even when you know it’s not your best work. This is because the mental load is finally off. Learn to listen to that plea from your brain. Psychologists have made an easy method for tackling this issue we call burnout: the 42% Rule. According to Lily Counselling in Habitual Burnout Recovery: Breaking the Cycle for Good, 42% is about how much time your brain needs to rest – about 10 hours every 24. And I’m not saying that should be everyday, but if you’re inputting 100% energy into something, you’d need to output 42% in relaxation. Whether that be going out for a walk, talking to friends, or even playing 5 hours of video games (like me), you need that rest to avoid falling into the dark pit of burnout.
Now when we look at it again – that 5-hour Minecraft break to build an aesthetic little town out of blocks was something that expressed my creativity. When I allowed myself to work other parts of my brain (besides memorizing and working), I freed up my mental load. Doing nothing actually helped me. Now, when I face the next task, my brain won’t be so incredibly fried.
If you’ve felt guilt for craving a break and not being as productive lately, I say you pick something to do that isn’t work. Allow yourself to breathe for a moment. Expel that creativity your brain wishes to unleash. Swallowing it won’t contain it. You aren’t wasting time if you need it to reset and enhance brain space for your next study session.
So yes, I have ignored the numerous things due this week. I’ve made a little schedule for myself to keep me afloat with everything I have going on. When I’m overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things that are clouding my calendar, I sit down and figure out an hour-by-hour schedule that can appropriately stack my time to manageable portions. My Psychology exam? I take each topic, spread it across the days I have, and dedicate as much time I might need for each, without forgetting when to incorporate small breaks (maybe even bigger ones as a reward after learning a challenging topic). It allows for clarity in my thoughts and an ease to my anxiety – to understand that there is a reason for doing “absolutely nothing.” Now my Minecraft world has a nice garden and pretty flowers… and I feel accomplished about that. The art of doing nothing isn’t about being mindless; it’s about knowing the weight of giving your mind time to consolidate the stress it has gone through.
The next time you feel overloaded – don’t switch to reels. Find an outlet for brain stimulation while also allowing for peace of mind. Your body will thank you later when you’re more productive during your next study session.