It's finals time, and intense studying is being conducted across campus. Being an English major, the material I have to learn is not so much facts and figures but thematic. I need to be able to understand trends in thought and relationships between writings that may span centuries.
Which I quite like.
My roommate, however, is not an English major, but she is in an American Literature course. In studying for her final, I noticed that she was reading the Cliffsnotes page for Emerson's "Self Reliance." Now, I'm not trying to bash people who use Cliffsnotes. I certainly frequented them in high school, and sometimes you need a starting point when approaching such an encompassing work. However, my question is, what really is your goal in taking this exam?
When I asked my roommate, her response was, "to get a goddamned A," and this probably isn't far from what most college students would say. To me, though, I would rather write something interesting and thoughtful rather than something my TA will be 95% sure I plaigarised from Cliffsnotes.
I realize that because I am an English major my goals in this area might be a bit highbrow, but I can't help but think that if you've invested the time and money to come to a university and take a course that requires you to write, shouldn't you want to do it well? Resorting to Cliffsnotes at the end of the semester says to me that you really haven't gained anything from the class at all.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
The Art of the All-Nighter
My reasons for writing this blog are two-fold. 1) I've been undertaking a ridiculously large number of all-nighters recently, and 2) I should be using this time to write a paper for my ECON class, so of course I'm going to do this instead. Here follow my personal guidelines to a successful all-nighter.
1) Location
This is possibly the most important rule. Don't try to pull an all-nighter in your room, or especially in your bed. I recommend choosing a location that is far enough away from your normal haunts that you cannot easily return when you become faint of heart. In fact, it's best if you can establish a specific location for all of your all-nighters and build your habits. An especially good location will allow you to orient yourself in various seating positions without being too comfortable- you don't want to be lulled into a false sense of security.
2) Supplies
Bring everything you might possibly, conceivably need to complete your work. You can't allow yourself any extra excuse for not getting your it done. If you're considering bringing that extra large notepad of paper because you might need to do some large scale graphic organizing, do it.
3) Food
Snacks are important. You should have one snack on hand for continual munching/grazing, like cereal. It should be just heavy enough for you to stave off the hunger pains without feeling full. You should also have another snack on hand for a mid-night pick up. I recommend some type of fruit for the psychological benefit of feeling healthy even when you're foregoing sleep.
4) Drink
The drink you choose will have a large impact on your mood. I've found a lightly caffeinated tea to be the best option. Energy drinks or coffee provide too great an energy surge that doesn't last through the long haul- in addition to making you run to the bathroom too often. (Which brings up another point under location- make sure you have easy access to a bathroom.)
5) Distraction
This is a category that is difficult to qualify. On the one hand, in designing your all-nighter set up you should plan to minimize distraction by placing yourself in vastly uninteresting surroundings. On the other hand, though, occasional minor distractions are important to renew focus and to allow new ideas the necessary time to germinate inside your brain. Try playing solitaire or drawing a picture in MS Paint- but don't let it pull you too far away from your work.
Having ostensibly finished this list of guidelines, I should get back to my actual work. Unfortunately, in the great mystical scheme of things, I would much rather do the work I don't need to do than the work I do.
1) Location
This is possibly the most important rule. Don't try to pull an all-nighter in your room, or especially in your bed. I recommend choosing a location that is far enough away from your normal haunts that you cannot easily return when you become faint of heart. In fact, it's best if you can establish a specific location for all of your all-nighters and build your habits. An especially good location will allow you to orient yourself in various seating positions without being too comfortable- you don't want to be lulled into a false sense of security.
2) Supplies
Bring everything you might possibly, conceivably need to complete your work. You can't allow yourself any extra excuse for not getting your it done. If you're considering bringing that extra large notepad of paper because you might need to do some large scale graphic organizing, do it.
3) Food
Snacks are important. You should have one snack on hand for continual munching/grazing, like cereal. It should be just heavy enough for you to stave off the hunger pains without feeling full. You should also have another snack on hand for a mid-night pick up. I recommend some type of fruit for the psychological benefit of feeling healthy even when you're foregoing sleep.
4) Drink
The drink you choose will have a large impact on your mood. I've found a lightly caffeinated tea to be the best option. Energy drinks or coffee provide too great an energy surge that doesn't last through the long haul- in addition to making you run to the bathroom too often. (Which brings up another point under location- make sure you have easy access to a bathroom.)
5) Distraction
This is a category that is difficult to qualify. On the one hand, in designing your all-nighter set up you should plan to minimize distraction by placing yourself in vastly uninteresting surroundings. On the other hand, though, occasional minor distractions are important to renew focus and to allow new ideas the necessary time to germinate inside your brain. Try playing solitaire or drawing a picture in MS Paint- but don't let it pull you too far away from your work.
Having ostensibly finished this list of guidelines, I should get back to my actual work. Unfortunately, in the great mystical scheme of things, I would much rather do the work I don't need to do than the work I do.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
