I am a workaholic and a perfectionist, I have just started university and some of my classes are ‘asynchronous’ meaning I have no physical class space to work in and am expected to do most of my assignments entirely independently. I didn’t think this would be a problem until I spent also 10 hours on an assignment that was supposed to take me two.

I convinced myself that the more time I spent on an assignment, adding things to my work that I was in no way asked to do, the happier my teacher would be and the better mark I would get. Although this may be true, I didn’t think about the impact on my mental health of putting all of my time into my work and not giving myself any time to do anything else.

Be reasonable

I spoke to my teacher about it, he said that although he does in fact tell us to spend as much time as we can on the assignment to make it perfect, when saying this he takes into account the fact that we other classes we need to complete work for as well as our social lives.

How does this reflect on risk taking? 

You may be thinking how does the above have anything to do with risk taking. However, the concept of taking a break can be implemented when you’re taking risks. 

Why? 

This is because, if you are taking part in extreme activities or taking risks at work, there should be breaks in between these risk taking activities as it allows you to reflect, relax and take time away from being on the go all of the time. 

Overall, taking breaks makes sure that you don’t burn out and sometimes remembering to take breaks is easier said than done. However, it is important to take time for yourself to focus on your wellbeing and to reflect on if what you are doing is something that you want to carry on.

To some people, the fact that they need to eat and sleep between doing work is common knowledge, but when the very most important thing to you is getting the best grade possible, these ‘fundamentals’ are easy to forget.

Balance is important 

So, moving forward, I actively give myself time to have a break and socialise and make it a part of my academic schedule so that I have no reason to feel bad about it. Spending time away from a textbook makes my actual study time more productive and I also have time to make friends and learn from my experience outside of the classroom.

What do I want you to learn from this you ask? TAKE A BREAK! Realise that taking time for yourself is the best way to get good marks in the school, don’t feel guilty, be kind to yourself.