Hey You! Take a Break!

Posted September 22, 2014 by Alexandra Bernson

Even though we are barely a month into the semester, I’m starting to get a little overwhelmed.  This post might be a bit premature for some of you reading this blog, but as an online student working full time and living on my own, it is very easy for me to feel inundated with everything that I have to do.  For us online students, there isn’t a standard structure to our academic schedule – no set class times, no free afternoons, no opportunity to go to the 2PM free coffee hour on campus (seriously though – there never seems to be any student events in Boston that take place after 5PM!).  I am still adjusting to building time for my schoolwork into my schedule, and so far I’m getting everything done on time.  But then I remember that it is barely the end of September, and soon my mountains of reading and required discussion forum posts will be supplemented with 10-page research papers and group projects.  I can’t help but log into Moodle and utter, “Help!”

I have a tendency to get a little obsessive about getting everything done.  I make giant to-do lists to keep myself focused and become very stressed out if everything on that list isn’t crossed out by the end of the day.  Interruptions and unforeseeable roadblocks on my journey to Complete The List cause instant panic and anxiety.  But this weekend I was able to meet up with one of my professors who reminded me of how important it is to take a break.  Even if you only have a few minutes to relax, commit fully to those few minutes.  Make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and concentrate on making the best cup of tea or coffee that you’ve ever had – not on what you were just reading, writing, or studying.  If you are out of coffee, walk or drive to the nearest coffee shop!  Watch an episode of something silly on Netflix (I’m making my way through the 1980s Boston TV series “Cheers” because of my love for “Frasier”).  Go for a run around your neighborhood.  Read a chapter of that novel that you were trying to finish before the school year began.  If you have pets, give into their loving neediness and play with them.  You’ll find that you have more energy to give to your studies if you take some of that energy for yourself. 

Good luck on your studies, and please send a little luck my way! 

My cat, Lady, urging me to take a break by using my assigned reading for a pillow.