Pushing Yourself

Assalamualaikum.

There are some people that push themselves too hard and some who don't push themselves enough.

Which category do you fit in?

Well obviously there are problems with both.
The one i'm going to talk about today is pushing yourself too hard (especially for students; on studying).

I know that most of us, right now are preparing for our finals.
And if you're studying, that's good.
And if you're not, that's good too (provided that you have before this).

So how much is too little and how much is TOO much?

Unfortunately, there is no definite answer to that. It's different for everybody. That my friend, you have to figure out for yourself.
Some people like their coffee bitter, some like it sweet, some like it semi-sweet and some need different percentages of creamer. And creamer is another topic altogether. Real creamer? Whole milk? Skimmed milk? Fresh milk?

Even our coffee is complexity contained in a cup.
We are definitely more than a cup.

But what is definite is that we need variation. Deep down, no one wants a life that's dedicated to doing only ONE thing. We'll go mad if that were the case.

Examinations are stress-inducing (Whoahohoa., fancy *wink*).
We look around us and we see our classmates that always have books piled to their noses and we feel intimidated; not by them, but by our own none-doings. This is normal but it should not be the case.

Yes, yes, you know all this already.
I know.
Then why am I telling you?
Because all of us, tend to ignore such advices even when we know they ring some truth.

I know this. You know this. But how often do we remember this?

Don't compare ourselves to others. People are too different to be compared.
Sure, we can have a role model but we are different and we can only 'be them' to an extent.

Let me give you an example;


Dari Aisyah r.a :

Bersabda Rasulullah s.a.w kepadaku pada suatu hari:

”Wahai Aisyah! Adakah di sisi kamu sesuatu pun (untuk dimakan )?” Aisyah berkata:” Wahai Rasulullah! Tidak ada sesuatu pun (untuk dimakan)” Baginda bersabda “(Jika begitu) maka aku berpuasa”.

(Muslim)

Okay. So, a point has been made here. Should we do the same? 
No, because we are different. 
Proof? Read on.

 Hadis riwayat Ibnu Umar ra.:

Bahwa Nabi saw. melarang puasa sambung (terus-menerus tanpa berbuka). Para sahabat bertanya: Bukankah baginda sendiri melakukan puasa wishal? Nabi saw. menjawab: Sesungguhnya aku tidak seperti kalian. Aku diberi makan dan minum. (Shahih Muslim No.1844)

I learn my lesson in two days.

The way i normally spend my days are as follows (not really that systematic. I prefer a flexible time table).

8 a.m - 6 p.m everyday, is dedicated to academics (i'll be honest, it doesn't really apply on weekends). By this, i don't really mean i STUDY for 10 hours straight. If you can do that, BRAVO. But, I, i'm sorry, can't. 

I have an average of 7 hours of classes every day. Every hour or so, i take 5-10 minute breaks. During those breaks, i don't just stare off into space. I watch a short Youtube video, read a book (leisure), write bits and pieces for my novel and what not. 

I allow myself one hour for lunch (enjoy your meal folks. Live in the moment.) and don't forget your prayers. From 8am-6pm, when I'm not in class, I revise notes or finish my homework, but every hour or so; don't forget to take short breaks. So, the 10 hours arent really 'pure' 10 hours once you minus the breaks and lunch and prayers.

 Even so, that left me EXHAUSTED at the end of the day.

If you're sleepy, sit somewhere public. That way you'll be too embarrassed to sleep.

 So, my life, academically, IS JUST THAT. In the mornings, after Subuh prayers and before classes start, I don't revise anything. Usually i read a good story book during that period.

What do I do at night? 

I don't study, at all. Should I be? Oh well.

Night time is when i focus on writing my novel. Make a good cup of chocolate milk and sit in front of the computer. This goes on from around 8-10pm. I'm one of those people that needs 8 hours of sleep, NO MATTER WHAT. 

Unless you want to deal with 'Cranky Ami' the next day. = ="

So, what changed? How did i learn my lesson? 

My parents started getting worried; you know, that i wasn't focusing enough on my studies (cause they don't see me studying - i know we've all been there.). They think i'm focusing too much on my writing career because I have been writing for exactly 35 days and my novel is already 214 pages long.

I kept saying "It's keeping me sane in all this madness."

But after, about a month, you kind of get sick of hearing the same complaints.

So, I thought "Fine. I'll stop writing and learn more than I am now." 

So, I tried; as you are already informed, FOR TWO DAYS.

People, there is such a thing as brain overload. Believe me. I've read on the net, that a Harvard student died because he was studying too much.

How did I change my schedule?

i've read somewhere that the optimum time for studying is actually 2 hours of self-studying per 1 hour of class. So, I tried that, totaled up the amount of hours i had to fulfill each day.

So, day one, I set my timer for 10 hours and 20 minutes of 'PURE' studying.

Every time i reached a break, or lunch time, or prayer time, i would stop the timer. It would mean that i had studied an actual 10 hours and 20 minutes when the timer went 00.00.00.

So, I did that. I took breaks, limiting it to 5 minutes. But i wouldn't read a story book since my parents don't approve of me reading so much as well. I would take a brisk walk as an alternative. 

 I studied while i was eating. I walked really fast to save time (because honestly, I was still hoping to squeeze in some time for writing).

Guess what? End of day one, i completed 10 hours and 20 minutes. By then, it was already 10.30+ pm. I was so sleepy, God knows. But once i rolled into bed, i couldn't really sleep. My brain was sort of still 'buzzing' with chemical equations and projectile motions. Usually I fall asleep immediately. Definitely not the case on day one.

Day two. 

I got about 6 hours of sleep the other night, which is decent. Some people only need 6 hours of sleep.

I set the timer again in the morning and proceeded with my newly developed plan. By lunch time, I felt sick. Around 2 pm, I felt like vomiting and by 6 pm, I nearly passed out. 

And I ate, thinking i needed more glucose but no it did not get better. That night, i was not productive at all. I was so tired and the worst thing was, I couldn't sleep because my head was too noisy. 

It's like those nights when you've had too much coffee. You feel high, dizzy, tired, sleepy. But you can't even bring yourself to yawn. And then you just end up tossing and turning in bed; wasting time.

Day three, which is today, I woke up and I could not study, at all. I had even less sleep the other night. I just felt so tired and out of breath. 

so, i took a nap (a 3 hour-ish nap) and then decided, "Nope, this is not working at all."

And it really wasn't. I wasn't even stressed. I was just tired. I would sway, seriously disoriented. 

Guess what i did.

I had a wonderful, peaceful lunch and went out to Giant. It's not even an interesting place but I needed new sights and a different experience of the day. I browsed almost every lane, even ones I weren't interested in. Then i went to a bookstore and browsed through some cool books. And you know what? I took my own sweet time. And you bet it felt good.

Don't confuse this with giving up, because you can't even pay me to do that. I'm just taking things as they should be, slow and steady. I don't want my life to be black and white (even if there are shades of grey). I want my life to be a freaking rainbow. Life ought to be a freaking rainbow. (Yes, I am aware the colours of that sentence are not in a rainbow-appropriate order).

So what if i don't get a 4.0 GPA? I have to start somewhere, don't I? I won't die. 

See, no one is perfect, but every one can be better. And i want to be better.

You want to study all the time, not bother about other things in life? Fine. That's your choice. I'm not judging you. But this is mine because I'm not you.

In this world, there is always going to be a person better than you and a person worse. There is always going to be a person prettier than you and a person uglier. There is always going to be a person more successful than you and more failure-ish.

It's in the definition; being better, beauty, success. These are indefinite terms and we will never be satisfied with MORE.

So, make a rule. What are your goals? What do you want in life? Balance between duty and pleasure (and duty can be a pleasure). Enrich your life. Work hard, but not too hard. It's all in the BALANCE.

The sky is the limit, but brothers and sisters, you are just human. 

Your body can only take so much abuse.

Imagination wise, sure, knock yourself out. The sky is the limit.

Tweedle-dee, Tweedle-dum,

Assalamualaikum.