Hello! I’m Claire Schoenberger, the prose editor. I hope you’re all staying warm this weekend!
Everyone knows that thanksgiving break is the long awaited release of stress that is absolutely essential for a successful finals week. If you don’t get that break, odds are that the motivation you feel to study for finals goes from about zero to less than zero really quickly after the first few hours in the library.
Taking breaks is an absolutely essential part of the creative process, and Thanksgiving is the break that everyone needs to regroup and refocus right before you give up completely. While it mostly applies to school work at this point in our lives, it is important to remember that taking breaks is always an essential component of productivity. And not just the “I can’t focus so I ended up on facebook” kind of break, the “I set my phone timer for 30 minutes and when it goes off, I’ll take a 5-minute break” kind of break. Having a set time for a break, something you plan on ahead of time, gives you the motivation to keep moving forward and to stay focused. For first semester, that essential break before the finish line is thanksgiving. But taking that principle and applying it to all your work could really help give you that last push that will help you get to the finish line. While taking a break is all well and good, you still have to be using those breaks in a productive way so you don’t get too far off track. Checking your email and facebook for 15 minutes usually turns into checking every social media network for 30 minutes. So instead, read a chapter in your favorite book or do a coloring page–something you don’t have to think too much about but still keeps you engaged. doing something that keeps you engaged and thinking creatively might help more in the long run than being distracted by what everyone else on the internet is doing with their Saturday afternoons. You favorite authors, too, can inspire you to be just as successful as them. (although, for me, it’s hard to think of topping J.K Rowling).
Here are some great pages to look at and color next time you’re feeling stuck!
And some beautiful literature to inspire the last few pages of that paper!
So enjoy the upcoming break–relax and regroup! we’ve all got a lot of work to do before we leave, so buckle down and take some breaks!
Thanks for reading!
