Are you really taking enough time each week to enjoy the present? Probably not. If you’re a student, then your answer to that question often avoids the question entirely. As students, many of us rationalize on the daily that we simply don’t have time to relax and be present. We have too much to worry about with classes and our futures that taking time just for ourselves is going to be counter productive. Well… research says otherwise. Taking a break from your work, rather than staying on a constant grind, actually provides copious benefits to our mental health and academic performance.
Finding ways to incorporate mindfulness into your work, isn’t as difficult as you may think. The pomodoro technique is one method I’ve watched become more and more popular first hand. For those of you who don’t know, the pomodoro technique is one designed to improve work ethic and focus. It’s a simple step by step method (which you can follow above) that includes short breaks to allow your brain time to process and recharge. Even in intense study sessions, it is important to include breaks to avoid burnout and simple mistakes in your work. Feel free to add your own twist to the method as well. Try out different amounts of time to see what works best for you. If you have no idea where to start, check out this helpful guide for common variations!
Breaks during your study sessions aren’t exactly a sufficient inclusion of mindfulness, however. These short breaks are great for staying on task, but you need to include some dedicated time for yourself as well. Believe me, I am not exactly the model student for taking breaks, but scheduling them into my day seems to help me. I know “scheduling free time” may sound contradictory, but I promise it actually helps. Putting aside just half an hour during your day to do something you enjoy can really help to boost your mood; scheduling that helps to remind me to actually include that time into my day, rather than putting it off.
These relaxation breaks don’t need to include something like meditation (though by all means, meditate if that’s your thing), rather they can be any activity that you find enjoyable and relaxing. Reading a book, watching a movie, drawing, or even just listening to music and taking a nap are all great examples of simple activities to take your mind off the daily stresses of school. I oftentimes think of my free time as a “reward” for finishing a particularly difficult assignment. After I turned in my speech on Thursday, I decided to grab a book and some water and head out to enjoy the sun on HUB lawn. I like to include stretching into my relaxation time as well. It’s one of many relaxing activities that includes benefits for both mental and physical health, but what you choose to do is entirely up to you.
However you choose to relax, one thing is for sure, once you start including daily reminders to stay present in the moment, you start to appreciate the life you are living a lot more. As Gilmore Girls taught us: “People can live a hundred years without really living for a minute”. Taking these intentional moments to be mindful can really improve multiple areas of our lives.
This post hit particularly hard for me because sometimes I feel as if college is flying by too fast for me to catch up. I need to practice mindfulness for sure. I too utilize the Pomodoro method in order to study. What is your favorite mindfulness technique personally?
Personally, my favorite mindfulness technique is yoga. I find taking the time to stretch and be in the present really helps me to relax. Yoga reminds me to intentionally stretch and remove the tension from my muscles. I always feel so much looser afterwards, since I tend to hold stress in my shoulders especially.
After reading this I think I do need to schedule my free time rather than just taking it as it comes to me. I often find it difficult to get back into my work once I “take a little break”. That little break turns into me continuing to put things off and it’s hard for me to refocus sometimes. I think scheduling breaks and setting time limits could be really beneficial to keeping me productive and on task.
On the first day of SHO time, we did an activity and we wrote one word that describes our most important quality and characteristic that we want to embody. Mine was mindfulness. The message in this blog post is so important because I believe it is the key to happiness in life. Humans spend so much time worrying about the past or anticipating the future that the moments in life just slip away and stress takes over. As dss5812 commented, I also find that when I take a break it’s difficult to get back to work afterwards. Nonetheless breaks are extremely important.
This post gave me the validation I needed. I sometimes feel like when I take breaks from schoolwork I’m just being lazy, and letting myself down. I fear that when I do take those breaks, those breaks will turn into something much larger, leading to a much longer break, and me putting off work. Regardless I honestly say that whenever I do take those moderate breaks, I feel so much more relaxed and calm afterward, so I should definitely stop fearing them and take breaks more often.