Do you ever find yourself just sitting in a room by yourself with nothing going on to keep your mind stimulated? Do you end up getting distracted by some mundane thing like video games, YouTube videos, etc. and later find out that you could have been doing something productive? If you are answering “yes” to these questions, odds are that you might have too much downtime on your hands. Not the good type of downtime where you get invested in a good book or where you are taking a break in between events of the day. I am talking about the downtime where you finish what you needed to do that day and spend the next seven hours just sitting there, doing nothing. That kind of downtime can be a dangerous one to have in life, and sometimes it can lead to much scarier paths.

The American school system is strange, is it not? For most Americans, people will spend around twelve to thirteen years being academically stimulated. The average student may have two or three after-school activities, leading many of them to come home and really have only a couple of hours to themselves. It seems as though this is more common in high school but one can find it anywhere. And what to most high school seniors try to do after graduating? They go to colleges and universities where the haunting figure of downtime lurks.

It is remarkably surprising how much downtime you can end up having in college. Obviously how much free time you have depends on your major (sorry medical and art students) but what it really boils down to is this: students most likely finish classes around let’s say three o’clock (although this number may vary). That gives the students around four class’s worth of homework to do in nine hours (I am assuming you all go to bed at midnight even though we college students do not). That much homework in that amount of time is extremely doable and yet once classes are over, students will go back to their dorms and do nothing. I am not saying that allowing yourself time to decompress after classes is bad; I am saying that students will decompress for a good six hours before doing any productive work. That is not okay at all. Too much downtime leads to sluggishness and mental drainage. You feel less motivated and may end up gaining some anxious or depressing thoughts. New college students have this thrown at them all at once and never have a chance to adapt to this new system that is so very different compared to the business of middle school and high school. It is a serious problem with serious repercussions.

Do not be alarmed! There is a solution to the downfall of downtime! When I started out in college, I joined many different clubs. I started working out more and reading new, wonderful books that I never thought I would get around to. The people who knew me extremely well found this to be unprecedented; a person like myself would never be so out there. Why did I start doing all of this? Because I couldn’t afford to go down the rabbit hole of downtime. I knew I would just be stuck in my room all day without even moving. So get out and about! Join a club or read a book! Do something that you can say is productive. You would be surprised my how much you can accomplish.