It’s currently a Tuesday night, and after a long day of hard work and classes, I’ve decided to take some time for myself. Here at Notre Dame we pride ourselves on being hard workers; we don’t stop working until the job is done. This is especially true when studying for big exams or while working on major projects. However, constantly working can have negative side effects.
I had an exam this morning and I woke up early to really make sure I was awake and ready to conquer the test. After the test, I had a huge chunk of time, during which I planned to take a nap in order to make up for the hours I lost waking up at the crack of dawn. My nap never happened. When I got back to Lewis, I felt a sense of guilt for treating myself to a nap. I thought, how can I be napping when I have homework that I could be doing? The homework won.
Later in the day, I hit a wall. I had finished my classes, worked out, and finished some things that are due later in the week. I was working on an online problem set and I realized that I was only doing the work to get it over with, and my score reflected that. I wasn’t retaining any of the information I was learning, and I found my thoughts drifting to other things that I could be doing. That’s when I knew I needed a break.
I put the homework away and decided to watch a movie. As I popped Sex and the City into my DVD player I think I was the happiest person in the world. I was finally taking some time to unwind and relax. It was me time!
I’ve realized how important the cliché saying of “take time to smell the roses” couldn’t be more vital. I was rushing through everything, which caused me to be exhausted and dreading the next assignment. This can’t be good for anybody. Lack of sleep can lead to all kinds of sicknesses. On top of that, you have to love what you’re doing. You don’t have time to fully fall in love with your work when you rush through everything.
Now, I know that it’s not possible to take nights off whenever you want. We all lead very busy lives, and we don’t dictate when our work is due. We attend a really amazing school and because of that, we have to be willing to put in the work. Of course all of us are up for the challenge otherwise we wouldn’t be here. The next time you have a little bit of free time, it’s okay to procrastinate on the paper that’s due next week, watch a movie or call home. Take some time for yourself. You deserve it.
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