Sometimes, 24 hours a day does not feel like enough. Most of the time, I wish for at least 36 hours a day because maybe then 🙄 my to-do list will actually come to an end—jokes on me, that isn’t possible. Instead, I often find myself stressed, worried, and anxious because life is so very chaotic, especially during exams.
Most of you are likely amid exam season yourself; you’re likely studying (and procrastinating) like no other. It feels like time is of the essence and self-care is often the last priority because there’s just too much to do!
However, the irony is in how self-care is absolutely, undeniably vital to your success in any area of life, including academics.
For instance, let’s think about the night before an exam. Your exam is at 8 am and it is currently 11 pm. You can either:
Close the books, re-wind, and get a good night’s rest while feeling unsure about some of the material OR
Study for 3 more hours (or even more!) to feel more certain about the material you’re confused about and sleep for ~4 ish hours
In hindsight, it may seem like it is best to take option 2). After all, you get to feel certain about the material the night before. But in reality, you must ask yourself: is your studying even going to pay off without the sleep to reinforce it? You would also feel sleep-deprived the morning of the exam and perhaps extra anxiety due to the lack of rest to calm you down.
Thus, in my opinion, choice 1) is better! You may be uncertain about certain parts of the material but you will at the very least, get a good night’s rest to be able to use your brain for the harder questions the next day. You would also likely feel a little more awake and ready to take the exam.
Similarly, it is important to consider this cost-benefit analysis throughout your entire life. For example, let’s think about finals season again:
It may be more worth it to stop studying a few hours before the exam to control your nerves than studying till the minute before
It may be more worth it to take full meal breaks to rest your mind and re-fuel than studying and eating simultaneously
It may be more worth it to eat healthy and feed yourself food that makes your body and brain feel good than saving that extra hour with takeout
It may be more worth it nap after an exam to rest than jumping right into preparing for another exam
At the end of the day, you need to take of yourself to be able to put your best foot forward for your goals. It is easy to overlook one’s self-care in the hopes of getting short-term gratification, so please remember to always consider the long-term outcome too.
Remember that life is chaotic because you exist for it to be chaotic. If your health depletes because you don’t prioritize yourself, all your hard work goes to waste.
Put yourself first, because you need yourself to reap the benefits of your efforts!
I hope these thoughts provide insight! Self-care is important throughout your entire life. Good luck with finals for those who have them! Prioritize you above else <3
All my best,
N
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