UO App: The Stages of an All-Nighter

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The University of Ottawa’s Guide to…The Stages of an All-Nighter

All nighters. We’ve all done it, but often they were not successful. Ever wonder why? Wouldn’t it be nice to pull off an all nighter successfully? Because let’s face it, no matter how hard you plan ahead (or don’t) studying last minute is an inevitable part of exam season. With take homes, final exams, work, holiday shopping and so much more, it’s hard to perfectly plan out all the required studying hours. Therefore, late night cramming sessions and sometimes even the all-nighters seem to be nearly impossible to avoid. Nevertheless, if you know the stages of an all-nighter, you might actually be successful and pull it off.

Here is your guide to the stages of an all-nighter:

 Stage 1: Panic Mode

You’re totally relaxed at first when you arrive home.  Before the all-nighter even starts you think you have all the time in the world to do your assignment. How do you deal? You catch up on MTV shows, and refresh your Facebook and Twitter page. But then you look at your calendar and there it is: the due date. You can just run around in circles and scream now. The trick to a successful all-nighter is to minimize this stage. Take a deep breath, there’s no use in panicking since time is of the essence. 

Stage 2: Determination

Okay, it’s time to get down to business, no distractions. Tap play on your iPod and go! You can totally do this. Find a spot, whether it be the library, your desk at home or a coffee shop, just make sure you find yourself a spot that is comfortable and can allow you to focus with the least amount of distractions.

Stage 3: Procrastination

Is that a new red box I see over the little blue Facebook globe? That new notification is seriously tempting… It wouldn’t hurt to see what it was, right? After all, you were working really hard before. It’s okay to take a break to clear your mind, just remember the quicker you finish your assignment the quicker you can sleep!

Stage 4: Concentration

Okay, back to business. Time to close the Facebook tab. Try not to slouch when sitting at your desk, it’ll only tempt you to sleep more! You know this is the only way this assignment is getting done. This is the point where that last push is needed and you need to use up all of your concentration that’s left. This is the point where you’ll need to bust out the coffee or a Redbull.

Stage 5: Wake up

Somehow you fell asleep for a couple of hours while “working”.  It’s time to snap out of it and wake up! Its normal to want to take a quick nap to re-energize your brain but remember that you need to finish that assignment. Do a few jumping jacks, drink some more caffeine and get the last few sentences done!

Stage 6: The Heart to Heart

At this stage you’re starting to give up. You turn to your friend or a parent to vent for a solid 30 minutes. You’ll probably say something like “It doesn’t matter what I do anymore, I can’t do this! I’m going to fail anyway!”. But they will reassure you that you won’t. You made it this far, right? Girl. You got this. 

Stage 7: Confidence Boost

Awesome! You’re starting to feel good about yourself and you’ve got some motivation. You’re blasting your secret playlist of that band your friends think you hate through your earphones and you have a new cup of coffee next to you. You might actually pull this off!

Stage 8: Success

That moment when you click “submit” and the screen replies with “Assignment Submitted”, has got to be the best feeling in the world. You did it, give yourself a pat on the back! And don’t forget to treat yourself with some well deserved rest and a nice treat. You deserve it, you worked hard all night!

            While daunting and stressful, all-nighters aren’t so bad if you pull them off properly. You just have to push yourself! But try not to pull an all-nighter every night, you should always give yourself some time to finish an assignment. They’re not exactly the ideal way to study or do work. But, if you do pull an all nighter, you have to do it the right way. By knowing the stages, you will be better prepared!

Photo credits:

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