You have a test on Friday, two papers due Thursday, homework assignments, readings and Moodle work … oh great. On top of that are your two club meetings (which you will probably end up skipping), an event you signed up to volunteer for that you are now regretting and that article you keep putting off to write another day.
You could try to get ahead in the beginning of the week, but your friends are hanging out Tuesday night. Not to mention all of the times you will end up eating meals together or just plain messing around during the coming week. Oh, and don’t forget those Netflix mental breaks that you will force into your schedule even if they don’t fit.
Every now and then, no matter how hard we plan, we find ourselves trapped in a week full of work. These are the weeks that we dread, that throw us into chaos, and that we hope to get through unbroken. All of our good habits, schedules, routines and healthy lifestyles are strained and sometimes fall off. Do not let them! The essentials are exactly what you need to stay healthy and survive “hell week.”
The first thing to go will undoubtedly be sleep, especially toward the end of the week. When an assignment comes down to the wire, sometimes the best solution seems to be staying up until it is complete. In “The Effects of Total Sleep Deprivation on Basic Vital Signs and Cognitive Function in Humans,” three NC State researchers — Amy Martin, Christine Davis and Young-Mi Oh — studied this issue. The study found that sleep deprivation decreases a person’s ability for thinking critically, creatively and within a reasonable time limit.
The last thing anyone should do is go without sleep. As the study shows, not only will you have a harder time producing good work, but the work itself will take longer. At some point you may as well just hit the hay, even if it’s only for a few hours. Better that than staring into space like a zombie with drool dripping off your chin. Not to mention the fact that pulling an all-nighter will sink an immune system faster than the Titanic and leave you struggling to stay afloat.
Next to go is good old exercise. It is simple math really: An hour a day of exercise could become five hours to do school work during the busiest of weeks. In reality, math does not always add up. Working out is known to improve energy levels, memory and reduce stress, all of which are especially useful during tough weeks. Skipping out could make you feel lazy and sluggish or possibly like a hyper little child who ate too much chocolate. Taking on these traits doesn’t sound too helpful for writing a paper or studying for a test.
Eating healthy is something that honestly all of us college students need to work on, but our good habits especially fail when assignments flood our lives. Eating fast food, pizza, ice cream and sweets doesn’t lead to success. It leads to feeling bloated, tired, grouchy and lounging on a couch watching videos until 2 a.m. This isn’t to say that it isn’t difficult to eat healthy; you will have to be conscious about what you eat at every meal. Choosing the obvious like vegetables, fruits and good meats will help fuel your body and mind through unrelenting amounts of assignments and tests.
Don’t worry about being perfect. There will be times when you lose sleep, or skip a workout or shove some Pokey Stix in your mouth. The point is never to forget the essentials, especially during weeks with mountains of work. The essentials will keep you feeling good and happy, and let you do your most impressive work.
At the end of the day, grades are just grades, and all you can do is your best. Take a moment to think about what truly matters in our limited time on this earth. We face so much pressure to do well in school that we are willing to sacrifice our health and happiness. Yet, the very things we sacrifice, these essentials, are actually the key to our true success in life.