Roughly a week ago, I found myself working under deadline while sequestered in an empty classroom with a laptop, the frigid dregs of a cup of coffee, and the wish it was not 3:30 a.m. Previous generations might have described this as burning the midnight oil,"" a phrase suggesting cloistered monks hunched over papyrus scrolls by lamplight, a marked contrast from the over-caffeinated undergraduate dividing time between bathroom breaks and staring at a blank Word document.
It can be easy to romanticize the all-nighter. This all-or-nothing approach to higher education may be exciting at first, but after the initial I'm-going-to-stay-up-'til-dawn buzz wears off, the unsettling hum of fluorescent lighting makes a lousy stand-in for a dozen chanting clergyman. When I hit this point a week ago, I realized I had a choice to make and, in defiance of Winston Churchill, ""Galaxy Quest"" and yellow rubber bracelets everywhere, I gave up.
I sent out a brief e-mail to my TA stating the terms of my surrender and asking for h is sublime mercy, shut off my laptop and went home. Within half-an-hour, I had embraced the enemy's ways and beliefs - in the form of pajamas, a hot shower and a comfy bed. The battle was lost and I wasn't going to let something inconsequential like pride keep me from enjoying my slumber of attrition.
Despite all the good that's come of famous surrenders (Appomattox, Yorktown, the Berlin Wall), giving up still carries an unfortunate stigma. This attitude carries over into education, which keeps students driving forward, despite the fact we're exhausting ourselves for neither king nor country, but instead for breadth credits and leadership experience.
Halfway through the semester, it's easy to forget that backing down is an option. Thousands of people pack into College Library, entrench themselves in little study cubicles and prepare to make a last stand against rampaging tetracyclines, polygons and Ezra Pound.
With all the negative consequences of stress, a break here and there can help save both sanity and time. I learned this lesson two years ago, after two all-nighters in one week triggered an immune system crash. Apparently, a temperature of 103 degrees halts all productivity. This was hard-won knowledge, the kind only understood while huddling in a blanket cocoon, shuddering next to a space heater for the better part of a week, distractedly muttering the chorus to ""Hot Blooded.""
After my fever broke, exams had to be made up and extensions granted. My scholastic zeal left me further behind than when I'd started.
Even if it's too late to get an extension or drop a class, there are still plenty of opportunities to look after your mental and physical health. After last week, I thought it would be a good idea to renege on social commitments and spend my weekend catching up on sleep. In the spirit of productivity, I wrote up a brief (and easily imitable) agenda to guide my relaxation. Adhering to a schedule is much less stressful when the number one and two priorities are, respectively, ""eating large bricks of chocolate"" and ""kittens!""
At the end of the weekend, I experienced not only a sense of accomplishment at having followed through with an agenda but also the satisfaction of sleeping, eating and grooming. When I finally returned to work on my assignment, I was a completely new man - fat and covered in cat hair. It turned out the change of perspective was all I needed. That, and an ending.
If you have strong feelings about giving up, e-mail Matt at hunziker@wisc.edu. You lazy bastard...
