Time: where did you go? – A Student’s Dilemma

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. There’s a smell in the air and yes…that’s the odour of fear and desperation permeating from the library. The past week and a half and the forthcoming days have been perfectly coined by my friend writing exams in law school as “bored panic”. Never before have you been so stressed and suffering from such mind-numbing ennui at the same time. This is what we pay the big bucks for, kids.

I can’t believe exam week is upon us again! Didn’t we just do this not so long ago? As someone who takes a little longer to grasp some concepts, doing the same thing as last time means you can expect the same results (i.e. passing on a wing and prayer) or is the definition of insanity: the choice is yours. So if you, like me, enjoy procrastination, here are some helpful tips I have previously employed, am currently employing, and wondering how to fit in all the procrastination I have planned in the next few days!

1. Per the aforementioned smell of the library, I would say avoid it all costs. You’re much better off at home where study break dance parties are not only socially acceptable, but borderline part of the rental agreement.
2. Have an ineffective exhaust fan in your bathroom that is leading to black dots of mold in your bathroom? This is the best time to bleach the whole thing; I think the fumes might even encourage you to go back to work.
3. Money is tight these days, so maybe you can’t afford all the luxuries you used to, like paying someone to maintain your eyebrows. Spend time in front of the mirror (because you like to do it anyway) and carefully shape your own brows. Chances are high that you’re going to screw them up and need to pay to go get them fixed because you didn’t know how to do them yourself in the first place.
4. Visit the grocery store daily. Everyone needs to eat – multiple times an hour.
5. Bake! I have been baking up a storm since moving to this country. It’s soothing and delicious. Can’t say that about studying. This may be why point 4 is a point, but hey – correlation, not causation, right? #ProcrastinationKitchen
6. It’s getting chilly and even for a Canuck like me that means sweater weather. But as I’ve mentioned before, I certainly don’t trust the UK washer/dryer business with my precious woollen goods. Now is the best time to hand wash your sweaters and lay them out to dry. By the time you get back from holidays they should be only slightly damp.
7. Run. There’s nothing quite like physically running away from your adult responsibilities (of studying). I’ve run through almost all of the Royal Parks, and have definitely improved my pace, but still don’t understand options.
8. Have a senior moment. I don’t mean soil yourself in a public place, but perhaps your flatmate has brought new hardware for your TV and now you have six remotes and a keyboard to point at the TV. Nothing makes you feel smart quite like pressing all the buttons to watch what happens. At least at that point you feel better about cash flow from operations (or worse).
9. Go on a date. Back-to-back Saturday exams got you down? Take Saturday night off and re-join the land of the living, put on a kicky little outfit, charm someone and allow yourself to be charmed. I did statistically better on my Sunday exams and where n=1, statistics never lie.
10. Read this blog. Congratulations, you’ve procrastinated all the way to the end. Take solace in the fact that it took me longer to write it than it took you to read it.

Stay classy, we’re almost there. 

Image credit: Rami Banna