Wellbeing and productivity

If there’s one thing I’ve learned during doing my Bachelor while working full time it is this: do NOT neglect your wellbeing. It simply isn’t worth it and it does NOT pay off. 

Getting a degree is not a short term endeavour. That makes it more a marathon than a sprint. And while some of us might pull off a sprint while they’re sleep deprived, untrained or hungover, not many would attempt to run 42.1k/21.6 miles in that state. 

This means make sure you take breaks and you take time for your workout routine – weather if that’s a run or a walk doesn’t matter. Just take the time to keep your body fit and functioning. 

My biggest mistake was when I was writing my Bachelor thesis. I got stuck and felt like I’m not getting ahead as much as I “should”, so I forced myself to carry on working when my head was depleted. The result? Well, I wasn’t super productive and I wasn’t resting or recharging either. Which means I basically wasted time I could have better used working out or relaxing, since I wasn’t getting done much anyway. 

The moral is: take a break when your head shuts down and go for a run, a walk, do yoga, sleep, cuddle your pet or your loved ones. Just get away from the laptop and take a break. Whatever floats your boat and helps you to recharge is good. It can be 15 min or two hours, all that counts is that you rest when you’re not productive anymore.