Picking the book up (and putting it down)

There's literally no better feeling than getting your work done.

In a feat of superhuman perseverance, I was able to complete a five page, 1500 word essay on synecdoche in under three hours, after having stressed out about writing it and putting it off for an entire week. Being in that kind of mood, I decided to see how much homework I could plow through before my steam ran out. Suffice it to say, once I completed the essay, read all of my immigration articles for seminar 4, and caught up on Plato's Protagoras for my Greek Philosophy class, I was at a loss for what to do. So I took a nice, long, hot shower to destress, cleaned all the dishes and my room, e-mailed my parents, checked Facebook, watched random internet videos, and generally futzed about. Now, I'm oscillating between reading ahead on the Harlem Renaissance for my American Fiction class and catching up on all of the TV shows I'm really, really behind on.

So here's the point of this: when the mood strikes you, and I mean really strikes you, go for it. Do all the work you are motivated to do. College is all about time management, but it's also about knowing when to do your work and when not to do it. It's about knowing your body and when you're capable of plowing through a weekend's worth of homework in five hours. Trust yourself. And take advantage of those times when you have energy and motivation to do your work.

But when you're not really in the mood, like I wasn't this week (as I'm kind of unmotivated and very sick), just take a day or two to unwind. Watch some TV, do nothing, sleep, drink tea. And don't do this while simultaneously stressing out about all the time you're "wasting". Seriously, this time is so not wasted. Know when to give yourself a break, and know when you could be working harder. Know when to put your computer away, but also know when to put the book down. It'll pay off.