An empty mind is the Devil’s workshop. If you’re not dead in a ditch somewhere or grew up in a productive household, you have definitely had the pleasure, rather sarcastically, of being on the receiving end of this statement. Probably because you’ve spent your entire weekend neglecting any form of intellectual stimulus and resorted to drinking with buddies, smoking spliffs behind dinghy bars or masturbating till kingdom actually comes. Either way, you hate it. The statement that is, all the other things just sound like an average week, yes week, during a person’s college years.

Regardless of this fact, you can’t run away from the truth and, sadly enough, such a statement has completely skipped walking and is now in a full blown sprint chasing you. The longer you stay unproductive and the longer you neglect any form of intellectual stimulus, there’s a very high chance that you’ll start to feel all forms of negative repercussions- these could include feelings incredibly synonymous to that of sadness.

I’m not suggesting that you’ll spend hours in tears, eating ice cream and singing Hallelujah to yourself if you stay unproductive for too long but you probably might start feeling an emptiness that only some form of productive work can solve. Not the fifth beer sitting in the fridge or looking at random shit your friends post on Facebook, no. Reading a book, writing (even a shitty article could help, look at this one for example) or any other form of intellectual exertion will better your day and mentality. I’m writing this from personal experience.

I’ve been sat at home with nothing to do because I’m caught up with all of my course work for the week, which mind you is a fucking surprise, and its been eating me up alive. One would think that living in New York City would help mitigate such scenarios but you can only walk around your block a set number of times before wanting to beat yourself to death with a blunt object, just so you have something new to do. Maybe that’s just me, though.

Or maybe it’s not. If I asked a random person on the street what their idea of productiveness is, they will most likely give me the same answer I’ve just explained to you- doing something in order to keep you busy or to fulfill desired goals, be it academia, work or even walking back to that Starbucks on 89th street just to yell at the server because he gave you a Venti cup instead of a Grande- you basic bitch. Either way, you’ve done something. That night you can sleep knowing that the day did not go to waste and that feeling in itself should be the motivation needed to be productive.

I’ve learnt that unproductiveness is a lot like an STD, after a while you stop noticing its existence but it’ll definitely reappear, only more prevalent than before. It doesn’t stop there, after a while you start to become lazier, feelings of sadness and emptiness tend to overcome you. I know I’m making this sound like going through a really rough break up but honestly, even that shit is more productive than just sitting around hoping for something to happen while sucking down another beer or rolling another joint.

Let’s leave behind the mopey tone for a moment and focus on the fact that it’s a lot easier to be productive than people make it out to be. Bet money that if you remain consistently productive for at least two days, you’ll develop a taste for it and pursue that same level of productiveness, if not more, out of sheer pleasure. How great does that sound? The boundaries of “productiveness” in this instance are endless, it could be any one of a number of activities, so long as some form of mental aptitude is being ushered toward completing said activity- this does not include thinking, “I can totally finish that twelve pack of Rolling Rock if I really put my mind to it”. Leave behind your inner frat guy and chase after that nerdy kid he always beat up. Turns out one is more fun to be around after a while rather than the other. You decide which is which.

It should be mentioned that I’m not saying one must go straight edge or be “born again” in order to become productive. Fuck no, I can name three people of the top of my head who smoke their lungs black and drink their livers sick and still remain productive. I will give it to you in writing though (see what I did there?), these people are a lot happier when doing these things than you are and it’s probably due to the fact that they’ve had their fair share of being productive for the day, or week, and can continue to corrupt their bodies with a peace of mind- which is how God intended for it to be. I’m definitely going to hell for that one.

In summation, if you ever begin to feel random surges of sadness, try to pick up a book and read or put your thoughts down on paper because you’re probably just feeling the repercussions of being intellectually idle for too long. Productiveness is a learnt skill, never being mastered but always striving for more. Besides, any high you chase will be made better by knowing that you’ve dedicated some form of energy in accomplishing intellectual activities.