Arnav Kheni, 1/30 Week 10- Anchor Power
I have been extremely tired these past few days. In addition to the POAS Essay (which is a huge burden), almost every other class assigned me homework. With barely any sleep and barely any energy, I would normally say that I have been trudging through my day. But ironically enough, I lack so much sleep that my mind does not process that it is tired. It anticipates a nap coming up as it thinks that I have yet to sleep, so I only crash out towards the very end of school; meanwhile, I am simply just a bit tired during the morning and afternoon. Nevertheless, I have been very much stressed out these past few days, and three things have kept me sane: music, books, and YouTube. While I have not had a lot of time for the latter two, all three combined have allowed me to keep myself stable.
This made me reflect upon the power of a bit of joy; more specifically, it made me reflect upon having something to look forward to. For me, having something to look forward to when I get home helps me get through the day. What I view as a stressful and dreadful day can turn into a day in which hard work pays off. Furthermore, the University of Oxford had done a study and found out that “workers are 13% more productive when happy.” While this may sound obvious, sometimes we forget about using positives to lighten the negatives of our lives. When dreading about something you have to do, having a small, fun thing to look forward to can act as an anchor and keep us afloat.
I’ve had a similar feeling this past week! My sleep schedule this week has been abysmal (4-5 hours a night), and yet each of those days I’ve felt energized and pumped up, and my brain can’t process that I’m tired. The only difference is that I’ve been going to Suju’s and working late, so the time that I crash is ~2 AM. Either way, thank you for the reminder to find something that I’m looking forward to. I haven’t taken much time for myself recently, and I’m going to try to rest over the weekend (and hopefully get my work done as well). I’m assuming you turned in your POAS with the early deadline submission, so go ahead and get some rest with that out of your mind. You’ve deserved it. Here’s a fun random Youtube video you can watch, I’ve linked it down below.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K5oDtVAYzk
Hey Arnav! I liked how you started off your blog with a personal connection that is, at the same time, so relatable. Every night, I face the dilemma of prioritizing my sleep or prioritizing my work and then I get so confused, I achieve nothing in the process. Especially with the POAS early deadline just one day after we publishing our blogs, getting my eight hours of sleep was not even on the table. I knew I had to work harder than I knew was possible and the stress and anxiety of the submission was not easy to manage for me. Along with assignments and tests from other classes, the last thing I wanted to do was feel grateful, which is why I understand how it can be difficult to look for the positives. In my first blog of this semester, I had written about the power of positivity through adversity, where I wrote about how the impact of taking steps toward self-improvement and happiness through personal hardship is where true power lies. Ultimately, it is easy to look towards positivity when life seems great because everything unfolds the way you want them to. However, it is the small gestures of gratitude and doing the things that keep us grounded that sets the stage for experiencing a more fulfilling life. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHey Arnav, I’ve never related to a blog more! Last week, in preparation for the POAS early deadline, I slept at 6:30 AM three days in a row. This week, I’ve also had to stay up until 3 or 4 AM working on assignments. At first, I started out being extremely tired throughout the day. Now, my mind, like yours, does not at all process its tiredness. The only time of the day I truly feel worn out is at the end of school. Other than that, I feel too stressed to physically and mentally function properly. My anchor power is my cat. I look forward to seeing him every day, as he is one of the best forms of stress relief in my life. I definitely understand the power of an anchor in life. Without my cat’s snuggles, I truly do not know how I could sustain the sleep schedule I have been following for so many days. Thank you for writing this blog!
ReplyDeleteHey Arnav! I actually just woke up from a long nap as I’m really sick today. It’s been such a huge pain having to prioritize work over sleep these past years and maybe that’s why I caught a fever in the first place, or it was because of the weather. After reading this, I realized how crazy it is that the body will keep going and not crash because of tiredness, and how dangerous that could be. It’s almost like a survival mode where you have to keep going until you can’t anymore. I can understand your point about the importance of having something to look forward to, as that gives us motivation to complete tasks. When everything feels overwhelming, even the littlest moments or breaks allows us to reset and continue with our work. Hopefully you get more rest soon and we can all finally have a long break to take time to ourselves to prevent burnout.
ReplyDeleteHi Arnav! I really relate to this blog with the amount of schoolwork I've also had to get through in the past few weeks. This week and last week, I've had tests in almost every class and many assignments in English that have kept me up until 1 or 2 a.m. half the time. Similar to you, when I get less sleep, I feel surprisingly energetic throughout the day. I love your perspective on having something to look forward to every day. Currently, the thought of the minimum day on Friday and the upcoming weekend has been keeping me going. Good luck on all your work and thanks for sharing!
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