Elizabeth Kramer | The Informer
Does anyone else feel like the busier they are, the happier they are?
We all complain about midterms and finals, but I personally would rather have a lot of work to do than none at all.
Between six classes, being an editor for The Informer, being a Senator in Student Government, working at the Sports Center, and applying for internships and a visa so I can study abroad in the spring, I have very little time to sit down and relax during the week.
But that makes me appreciate those rare moments I do get to spend with my roommates and friends much, much more.
And it also makes me appreciate the few hours of spare time I have over the weekends to sleep, run some errands and hang out with friends some more.
Not only that, but being busy also prevents me from spending my time in useless ways like watching vines and YouTube videos and scrolling through my News Feed on Facebook.
I have found that I am much happier when I am not wasting my time doing these things.
When I have a few minutes to spare waiting for a class to begin, I have a choice: I can either check to see if I have any updates on my multiple social networks or I can read an article from the Top News section in the New York Times, which is a free app on the iPhone by the way.
You would think that in the middle of an extremely busy day I would opt for social networking in order to take a break from academia, but it’s actually the opposite. After studying or doing homework, I am on such a roll, and in such a reading-mode that I prefer to read the newspaper article.
And an added bonus? I am informed of the latest update on the national debt crisis rather than how much my friends love their boyfriends.
Everyone wins.
Plus, I work best under pressure. So though I usually don’t wait until the last moment to start an assignment, I do leave the major revisions to a paper for the night before it is due.
That way I am forced to concentrate and I am much more productive.
Moreover, managing my workload is much easier when I have a jam-packed schedule than when I have a lot of free time.
When I have several hours to complete one assignment, I fool around for a couple hours before even attempting to tackle it.
By that point it takes my mind so long to focus that I wind up not having enough time to finish it.
On the other hand, when I only have an hour to read a chapter of a book for one of my classes, I crack down right away and don’t allow my mind to wander. I get much more done in a shorter amount of time when I have a tight schedule.
To be honest, I have complained a lot this week about the amount of work I have to do. Two tests and three essays due this week was not something I was looking forward to.
My fifth semester and this is the first time I’ve ever truly had midterms – it was a difficult concept to grasp.
But it has been much easier (so far) than I thought it would be, specifically because I am so busy.
I recommend trying it – get busy. If you are not in enough clubs or taking enough classes or applying for enough positions or working enough jobs to feel overwhelmed some days, then you are not taking advantage of what this university has to offer, and you might also be missing out on performing at your full potential.