Renee Personal Essay 3

                                                        To do or not to do?

    In our fast paced society, "doing nothing" can be quite hard for many people. I mean, why would you waste your time to relax when you could finish your homework, read a book or start a personal project? Time was just better spent getting things done. 

However, junior year finals changed that. This was the most stressful winter final I had ever had, with 3 exams in one week. I believed maximum productivity was the way to go, and stress studied the material. I stayed up late almost all the time, and was exhausted and frantic. 

My parents were a bit concerned. Due to my -6 eyesight prescription, they didn’t like that I was staring at a computer screen from the moment I got home to the moment I slept. They kept telling me to take a break and “relax my eyes”.

At first, I didn’t listen. But, during a night that I was absolutely exhausted, their advice convinced me to stop my studying and make some instant Ramen. 

After that delicious bowl, I felt rejuvenated. I focused much better, and felt less stressed about my impending doom. I realized that, by taking a break, I could maximize my efficiency and get things done quicker. From then on, I always made sure to take 5 minute breaks between my study sessions. My sleep schedule improved, and I went into my exams feeling a lot less frantic. Taking breaks seemed to be the magic solution to my tiredness. It made sense - after all, our minds aren't conditioned to work and work. We need mental space in order to relax.

However, after winter break, this habit of break-taking began to be a problem. Instead of becoming more productive, I just started procrastinating. A lot. Everytime I came across an assignment that I was stuck on, I would take a break (as in, doom scroll on Youtube shorts). Then, when I came back, I was more stressed about the assignment. I was still at my starting point, and had less time to finish it. Before, I would’ve just powered through. However, because I believed that taking a break would solve everything, I would just take ANOTHER break. And another. And another. 

This dangerous cycle of stress-procrastination had quite a big consequence: my homework began to pile up exponentially fast. 

I continued to take breaks to destress. However, as my homework due dates were fast approaching, the only way to relieve the pressure was to actually get my assignments done. After a terrible, terrible week of grinding, I finally was able to submit everything on time.  But, boy oh boy. That was something I never wanted to repeat again. 

So what now?

I knew that I couldn’t go back to “100% productivity”. I had felt the benefits of taking a break and how great it felt for destressing. I also really wanted to avoid the previous situation again. So, I decided to “do nothing” in moderation. My plan was to take a 5 minute break for every hour I worked. 

This format was extremely helpful. I got the benefits of working for a long period of time, however, without the stress. Unexpectedly, I also was able to finish my homework much quicker than when I didn’t take breaks. I ended up having a lot of time for things I wanted to do.

In moderation, taking breaks can be quite good.  There appears to be a delicate balance of “doing nothing” - too much and you procrastinate and stress, too little and you get worn out.  Taking breaks in moderation helps us calm the mind to be more efficient. So, the next time you’re stressing about a project, maybe just step back, take a deep breath and do nothing.