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Pro-CRAM-ination: Waiting Until the Night Before the Test

Oh, Procrastination. Not as bad as repetition but still a worthy foe to the young, learning mind. Young and old, workers, students, and others feel the stress of an approaching deadline. Ever put off writing a sixteen-page (minimum) essay or term paper until the night before it’s due? Ever nap for two hours at some point between the task of typing such a monstrosity and then head off to a class to turn in said monster and take it’s evil twin of a test? Similar experience? Let’s talk to Veni.

“Evolutionary biology is flooding my brain.”

This is Veni. Remember her? Young community college student out in Texas? No? No, worries. This isn’t some sequel that needs recapping. Veni has been up for an amount of un-Godly hours writing a paper she put off to the last minute. Is she a bad person? Of the lowest order no doubt. But we’re not here to judge. Just to share the experience.

How do you feel?

“Like, not good. It’ll hit later.”

I expect so. The crash hits just as you’re about to take said test. You’ll realize this as you’re falling asleep while trying to decide which letter stands for the right answer. Remember, the answer is always C. I suggested that she commandeer a couch in some lobby later to catch some of them Z’s she missed.

“I always try but they’re usually taken. The other night I sat under a tree and I knocked out. I don’t know how. It was about 40 degrees outside. I must have been really beat.”

There are so many harms of sleep deprivation. If you’re awake long enough you may even start to hallucinate and lose grasp on reality. Luckily, Veni’s not so far gone. But does pulling an all-nighter work?

“Yes it does. When I study I usually get As”

Cramming isn’t necessarily what I’d call studying in the most ideal fashion. Typically, studying should be done in a series of short bursts and not all at once. The bursts could even span a few days if required. This is a method that leads to more information retained as opposed to trying to load it in all at once in one night.

“I definitely lagged it this time. I don’t consider myself a big ‘crammer’ and that’s mainly because for most of my school life, I’ve been able to do without too much studying. I’ve been lucky to have some amazing teachers. I can just sit there and listen to their lectures, take minimal notes and excel in tests and the class.”

She admits that she chalks a lot of that up to luck, but who would complain in that situation? Seems she may need a few more inspiring teachers. Too bad so many are being laid off. Until this economy turns around, you should probably get into a more organized studying and homework regimen if your studies are suffering. Don’t worry. There’s an app for that. Wait a minute…

STUDY HARD!

(but not all at once)