Everyone knows the feeling of pure terror as a deadline approaches, and you don't have enough time to finish a paper, project, homework, or job. One day or another, you put off studying for an exam or test until it's really WAY too late! Most of us hate that feeling. Sure, we love running on a deadline; we do our best work at the last minute, right? Adrenaline is great. Well, here's the crazy thing. There are two little things that can let you have fun AND do your best work WITHOUT the terror, stress, and (probably unhealthy) high blood-pressure.
Scheduling and saying, "NO."
Scheduling is a big deal. My life is on a calendar. I have things to do and places to do! Scheduling seems tedious, but a good schedule is repetitive. I wake up at 7am everyday. I work out for 15 minutes until 7:30am. I shower and eat between 8 and 9am, thanks to all of my classes starting at 10am. I try to eat lunch around 12-12:30pm everyday. I try to eat dinner around 5-5:20pm everyday. I do my homework BEFORE 8 and 9pm. I NEVER study if I'm going to sleep within two hours. Schedules with strong structure and areas of consistency train our minds and bodies to compartmentalize, decompress, and pace themselves. We know what to expect, and when things change, we know exactly what we will do instead of the norm.
Now, I'm sure my life sounds boring and the opposite of spontaneous. Thanks to being a college student, most of the time that is true. However, I make my fair share of late-night trips to Moe's and Sonic; I put in my time at movie nights. I climb buildings I shouldn't climb right before finals....and I work a job. Having a schedule allows me to focus on all the things I COULD do, and not all the things I AM doing. I know exactly where my study and homework time is everyday of the week. And sometimes it hurts....
....because sometimes you have to say, "NO." Sometimes your friends want to go for late night McDonald's runs or go on long drives in their cars, and you have to say, "Sorry, guys, I can't." And then you have to actually NOT GO WITH THEM. It hurts, but I find that the more I say no, the less stressed I am. The more I say no, the more fun I actually end up having.
Here's the secret behind it. When you schedule your life, you get to make the things important to you....important! When your life fits on a calendar, you realize how little free time you have. You realize you need to NOT be a part of a great social club. You say, "no," to leadership positions you really don't need.
When you take the time to be boring and routine, you take the time to make sure you have time to be wild and extreme.
Go schedule. Go live.
