Maybe it’s to complete homework, maybe it’s to cram for a
test or exam, or maybe it’s to finish an assignment that you’ve had weeks to do
the night before, because you believe you work well under pressure and are an
adrenaline seeking psycho. Whatever the reason, every student understands the
struggle, at one point in their career, of having to pull the dreaded all
nighter.
Just today I was up all night, working away at artwork for a
competition that is in just two days, and now I’m running on nothing but the
food in my belly and absolutely no caffeine. The point being, I am the master
of the All Nighter, and today I am going to give you 10 tips and tricks on how you can pull an efficient, effective
all nighter like a boss.
However, as a DISCLAIMER: All nighters are not the way to go. If you
can avoid them, avoid them and do your work on time. These are only to be used
if you have absolutely no choice. Consistent all nighters are bad for you, and
if you aren’t getting enough sleep, there are some serious short term and long
term consequences that are coming your way. So use these tips, but use them
only as a last resort. Good Luck.
1. Plan Your Night
Before you even think about staying up, you need to know why you’re staying up. Write down all
the things you need to complete in the night on a to do list—this can be steps
you have to take to finish everything efficiently or it can be just a list of
things to do—either way, the list is crucial to your success since you’ll be
able to track your progress as you go by crossing off each bullet as the night
goes on.
You should also decide the time frame of your night. Are you
going to be going from 7Pm until 4Am? Or are you just going to go for it and
not stop working until you’re finished everything? Whatever you decide, make
sure that you have the speed, efficiency, and time to get it all done. If you
tell me you want to start and complete a hyper realistic 16x14 Oil painting
from scratch in a 10 hour time span…Good luck. To make sure you don't screw up
your planning for the night, here are some things to take into consideration:
·
Set realistic goals—you aren’t superman, and you
aren’t a machine. Gauge how long it may take you to do something based on how
fast you can work, not how fast you want
to work.
·
Understand that you are going to get tired and
exhausted—it’s almost guaranteed that since you’re not
sleeping, your body will
feel tired and you will not work as fast as you may do when you’re well rested
·
Do you even need to stay up all night? – An
all nighter is good occasionally, but it’s possible that you can get everything
done before long and still be asleep.
If you follow all of these tricks, you’ll be organised and
feeling like a boss, READY to take on the beast that is The All Nighter.
2. Prepare Your Arsenal
This one is slightly straightforward, and ties into the
first tip. You should keep a list of thing’s you’ll need for the night—tools
you might need (pencils, paper, eraser, paint, calculator, etc.) to complete
what you need to do. Make sure you have everything before you start so that you
aren’t running around like a headless chicken in between your work period, and
thus you’ll be more efficient.
3. Get Rid of Distractions
Your arsenal of tools is ready, and you’re ready to
begin…But your phone buzzes and you just realise you have some messages and
texts and notifications from all of your social media (because goodness, you
are so popular). It’s probably okay
to reply just before you start working right? So you begin to unlock your phone
when
BAM !!!
I slap the dang thing out of your hand!! CAUSE NO!
Do NOT engage in social media while you’re working. Why?
Because it’ll likely go down like this:
:
You unlock your phone and begin responding to everything you
just got—let’s say 10-20 minutes are gone. Then your friends reply back. And so
do you. And the next thing you know, you’re in a fully heated conversation
about saving the Polar Bears and whether Donald Drumpf’s hair is real or not.
You look up, and its 1:00 Am. Nice. You just wasted hours of your time talking
to friends.
Having these distractions available are incredible efficiency
killers. Even if you aren’t going on in a complete conversation, checking
social media whenever you get a notification in between your work will shave
hours off of your night and you’re going to be working slower and getting less
done.
So tell everyone you’re going to go work (so nobody thinks
you R-Bombed them) and then put your phone on silent, sign out of all social
media, put away your video games, go somewhere alone and close the door to block
out any other people in your surrounding area (home, library, etc) and then get
to work. Keeping your distractions gone is the way to a productive night. Good
Luck.
4. Do Not Stress Out
You have a solid plan, you have your tools, and you’re
completely rid of distractions. You are prepared and you need to believe it. If
while you’re working through the night, you think you can’t possibly finish
everything, you can either continue and hope it all works out, or make
adjustments to your schedule to make it work. Remember to prioritize and get
the most important information or work done first. If you feel like it’s too
much, then it probably is. Just do your best, and keep a high head and stay
positive. You will get through this, because if a 15 year old kid like me can,
you sure as hell can too.
5. Keep Yourself Hydrated and Healthy
Now this one might come as a bit of a surprise to some
people, because it’s also a fact that eating while studying slows you down. However,
I cannot stop reiterating how important it is to understand that you ARE human. You need to keep your
body nourished so that it does not wear out and fail on you as you’re trying to
cram sesh like a boss. Make absolutely sure that you have some greens and colour
fruits and vegetables as a part of your arsenal. You have to make sure that you
are eating them and keeping your body’s vitamin and nutrient content is high.
Water is probably way more important. I don't care if you have coffee, or Red
Bulls, or any other drink to keep yourself awake as well, you need to have water. The water will keep
the caffeine circulating longer inside of you AND it will keep you from feeling
heated and dehydrated. It also prolongs the dreaded crash that most caffeine
products yield after 1 or 2 hours. Water is number one, so make sure you’re
drinking it regularly. If you want to
stay up and NOT feel sick, water and fruits and vegetables are the way to go.
6. Energize, Energize, Energize
I mentioned that you will probably have some kind of
caffeinated or sugary drink to keep you awake as well. And that’s totally fine,
but I am an expert on energy drinks, so let me give you a breakdown and what to
have to make your all nighters the most efficient:
·
Monster and Red Bull drinks are a no go – These
things are linked to screwing up your kidneys and your brain and body and all
kinds of ridiculous things. To be properly kept awake you also tend to need
several of them to work, and so I STRONGLY URGE YOU to stay away from any
energy drinks. These, in my opinion, suck, and should never be used.
·
If you’re going to use coffee, make sure it’s a
good quality coffee. You want the effects of the caffeine to work for you, so
look for something strong. The stronger the coffee, the less you’ll need to get
through the night. Personally, Coffee is my go to. (I usually will take two
normal Arabica Blends and then if I intend to stay up really late, I’ll toss in a shot or two of espresso. I also like my
coffee really sweet, and I use a little almond milk to give it colour).
·
For tea lovers, teas work too, but try to keep
the milk to a minimum. If you need the milk to make the tea work for you, then
just make sure you have more tea. The best teas I can think of are NOT green
teas—I'm thinking more on the lines of Chai, or black teas.
·
Generally speaking, more caffeine is better, but
a word to the wise: Too much will suck for you, mentally, physically and the
effects will leave you drained. Your kidneys will be killing you, your stomach
will be gassed, and you’ll be in the bathroom regularly throughout the day.
One more thing to keep you awake, on top of the caffeine, is
to exercise. Take about 5 minutes every hour or two and do some push ups and
jumping jacks. Keep the blood in your body circulating, and make sure you’re
stretching often. Being bent over a desk for hours on end can’t be good.
7. Do NOT Get Comfortable
This has to be one of the BIGGEST killers of the all
nighter. Make sure you avoid anything
that makes you sleepy. If you can avoid using a study lamp as your only source
of light, please do. Turn on as many lights as you can in your room and keep
the place as bright as possible. Darkness is bad, and if there is dim lighting
you will start to notice that you are getting tired faster. The more light
there is, the longer your body will think to stay awake. Another huge destroyer of productivity has to be
working from your bed. Yes, I know it’s soft and inviting, and I know you love
it, but when you’re trying to work, it is your enemy. Treat is like that
annoying kid you don't want to be around—avoid it like the plague. You will
almost always fall asleep or slow
down by around 60-80% if you are working from a comfortable soft place. Make
sure you are working on a chair,
preferably a hard, tall one, and at a desk. No laying down. Make yourself as
uncomfortable as you can (in terms of work space) and there’s an even less
chance of you falling asleep. Do Not Get Comfortable.
8. Jam Out
This is something that a majority of people already do when
they study or are doing work. It is a fact that listening to music while
working will boost your efficiency. However, although I said to Jam Out, you
should probably refrain from playing lyrical music—so almost any song that has
lyrics. Why? Because if you’re singing along as you work, guess what? You’re
being less efficient in your work. I recommend that you look into cool lyric free
music, and there are a ton that are amazing, and they aren’t limited to just
“The Sounds of Nature” (however ambiance of the outside world is DEFINITELY a
good one to try out). Dubstep, orchestral music, calm/relaxing, the blues,
jazz, or really anything without lyrics will work. Give it a go.9. Take Short Breaks
If you’re sitting in front of a computer screen for up to 12
hours without rest, I don't know any other way to tell you this, but you’re not
only boosting the amount of radiation that’s getting onto your face, but you’re
going to have serious headaches for days and honestly you are going to feel
like utter crap. So if cancer, the flu, nausea, and exhaustion aren’t enough to
persuade you to take breaks, then you are a complete fool. Take 10-15 minute
breaks every two hours. These will work to your advantage and you can take
bathroom breaks, wash your face, eat, exercise, and just take the time to
recharge. You wont feel like a zombie this way, so it’s definitely worth doing.
10. And Most Importantly…Sleep!
YES! You have finished all your work! Now go sleep like a
champ. Any rest you give your body is good. However this is only if you have
about two or more hours before you have to get ready for the new day. If you
wake up at 5 am normally, and it’s 4 am now, do not sleep. You’ll end up
putting yourself into the sleep cycle and waking up before its over will
actually make you more tired and exhausted than having stayed up through the night
anyways. Sleep is a good thing to do though. If you have the time to do it, do
it.
_____________________
And there you go, you’ve gotten through the night
efficiently, memorized everything you needed to know, finished that assignment
and you’re ready to get a good grade. AND you’re an expert of the all nighter.
Now I’m wishing you good luck with whatever it is you have to do.
~Peace
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