Endurance studying - you can do it!

This article is about making it the distance, AKA endurance studying.

If you think of your brain as a muscle then it is obvious that your mind can become worn out if you keep exercising it for too long.

As I reach the end of my first exam cycle, I am feeling a little bit of ‘brain lag’. I’m sure we’ve all felt this before. It’s when you push yourself so hard towards the finish that everything you’ve learnt about spacing and breaks fly out the window. All of a sudden a second spent glancing out into the sunny day pictured by your window is ten marks off your test. Perhaps the single spelling error you made in an email to your boss cost you your promotion. Or maybe it’s something more personal.

Either way, your thoughts are completely out of proportion and after a few months you’re tired.

Tired of everything, this kind of fatigue seems to perforate your entire body. Whether you were prepared for this to happen or not, it can be downright debilitating. Usually, we’d take a break, but life has a habit of throwing disasters in our way – just when we don’t need them.

So, for when that – inevitably – happens here’s a few ideas to carry you through.

1.       Catch up with a friend

You may not believe you have time. But half an hour with someone can truly lift your spirits. Talk about something completely unrelated to your current crisis. Try joking about the guy ahead of you in the coffee line who took so long to order you almost ordered for him! Or talk about that new sport you’re thinking of trying out.

Give yourself the chance to realign your world. Make it about something else, nothing serious and let your brain relax. There’s nothing wrong with separating yourself from the usual pressures of life.

2.       Brush your teeth

If this is a recent feeling then brushing your teeth can help to revitalise you. Obviously this one would be a little weird if you did it at school or the office, but when you’re continuing the hard slog at home, this could be an excellent option. A strong spearmint or peppermint taste can also help you to feel more awake and prepared to fight the stack of work ahead.

3.       Put yourself to bed

The most productive people are the ones that know when to stop. What’s the point in getting work done tonight if it’s going to be a half-attempted, grammatically flawed piece that you have to rewrite again at a later date?

Not much point.

Go to bed, get some rest, wake up in the morning and then get it done. You’ll look far more impressive with a polished piece of work in the afternoon than with a poorly edited one in the morning.

4.       Write out your schedule

I’ve talked about my planner before. But sometimes purchasing one just isn’t practicable and that is totally fine. A simple sheet of paper, a pencil, and an eraser will do.

Divide your paper into three columns. The first column should be labelled ‘things I have to do’, second, ‘things I’d like to do’ and the third ‘reward’.

a)      Things I have to do

In this column put everything that has a deadline in the next three weeks. Also put anything that you know if you fail to get done is going to impact really upon your life. For example tasks like, tax returns, work assignments, university work, etc.

Write everything you think of while ignoring the other two columns. It can be as long or as short as you need it to be.

b)      Things I’d like to do

In this column imagine what your most productive work day would be.  What do you get done? Don’t worry about practicalities just write down everything that comes to mind – right down to the smallest thing like ‘clear out spam’.

c)       Consider

Once you’ve written this out consult your ‘things I have to do column’. Are there any crossovers?

If so decide which column they really belong in.

The things I have to do are items that have a deadline and will impact on your life if they’re not done.

The things I’d like to do are items without a deadline or have a due date a long time into the future. They should be things that have been pressing on your mind.

 No item should be repeated twice. This is where your pencil and eraser become handy because you can edit the columns as you see fit.

d)      Prioritise

Now number the items in order of difficulty and importance.

e)      Apportion

Apportion your time between these tasks. For example, if you have five different jobs that are reasonably complex, due in two weeks and it is something you have to do; then give each task an equal amount of time.

How much you give them will depend on how much time you have.

f)       Reward

This is where your tired brain becomes excited again. You may not be ten years old but who’s going to deny that you totally work harder when there’s chocolate on the line.

Obviously not everyone here is a chocolate fan – and you’re not going to want the same reward for the same thing. Look through your columns and decide rewards for doing them. Try progressively listing them so that the harder you work, the better the reward.

It should look something like this:

If I complete three ‘have to do tasks and two I’d like to do tasks tonight, I can watch a new episode of ‘X.'

If I complete four, have to do tasks and two, I’d like to do tasks I can listen to music while I work

If I complete four, have to do tasks and four I’d like to do tasks I can book myself into the Pilates class

Etc.

Some reward options at low cost may be things like:

·         Spending lunch time at the park

·         Purchasing yourself something nice for your desk

·         Watching a movie in bed

·         Skype calling a friend

5.       Tell yourself it’s going to be okay

Keep up the positive self-talk!

It’s easy to get down on yourself when it feels like there’s no place for a break. But the truth is we’re all a lot stronger than we think. If you can turn the situation around, you can make it a chance for you to grow stronger.

A lot of times – particularly at school and university – we find things that seem impossible to learn. It feels like learning long division again.

Recently I felt that way about something that I was learning. I spent an entire weekend eating apples and peanut butter and sulking. Because honestly, learning is hard and towards the end of the year I don’t want to do it!

The most difficult thing to learn, though, is that you can’t give up just because it’s hard. I’m proud to say that a weekend of practice and going over-and-over material; I’ve finally got the hang of it. Admittedly the turning point was when I stopped feeling sorry for myself, looked at what I had achieved and told myself this was no different, and I could do it with just a bit more work. 

It’s never easy to keep going and I’m sure you all know that. But be mindful of what you think, there’s a lot of research that suggests the most powerful voice…is your own.

So keep going!

The Underage Lawyer