The art of being a night-owl: balancing work/play late at night

I live for the night, a lot of the times anyways. Many days it is up-and-at-em at 7 a.m. and back to sleep around 2 a.m. the following day. But I certainly am not the only college student who lives this way, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite ways to make this sleep-deprived lifestyle work for you.

• Don't stick strictly to work. Reward yourself between heavy duty thinking tasks. In doing so, you'll feel a sense of accomplishment and you'll also be having fun. Treating myself to a quick check on RSS feeds or dipping into the cookie box tend to be good rewards.
• If you have extended periods of time between classes, enjoy a nap in a comfy SLC chair, on the lawns in North Campus, at the Founder's Gardens. You'll feel refreshed and ready for your next class if you do.
• If you study intensively in the evenings, find a place where you can truly get away from the distractions. As much as we all like to think we can do five things at once - most commonly, study, AIM, Facebook, text messaging, and/or talking with a roomy or friend - you'll never generate the quality of work you would if you focused yourself more clearly. In the end, you'll be finished with your homework sooner and have more time for late-night coffee runs to Jittery Joe's and Facebooking with friends. My favorite place for night-owl studying is the 4th floor of the SLC. If you can snag a study room, you're in good shape.
• Don't fall into the habit of studying all night, every night. You'll lose touch with your fellow night-owls and you'll be sorry.
• Set a study schedule for the upcoming week on Sundays. Look over the syllabi your instructors have given you and make notes of everything due for that week. Don't be stuck searching for assignments at 2 a.m.

I hope these tips help you round out your work/play routine for late nights. Take a look at the time stamp on this post and you'll see that blogging is also a late-night activity. ;-)

I'd love to hear your tips and tricks for managing the college schedule, whether they be study or socially inclined.

Buenos noches!

Josh Barnett
957 D