2.gif)
All - Nighter Ritual
All-Nighter RitualTo be an engineering major in college, I often have a sizeable workload. When I add my business on top of that, my responsibilities and obligations can become gargantuan. Time often become my most scarce commodity. One way in which I can leverage more time is by taking the plunge and pulling the all-nighter. Over time, I've realized that pulling an all-nighter is somewhat of a ritual. Let's look at my timeline.
9:00pm - "Yeah, I think I can everything done by 2." - to myself
12:00am - "Okay. I'm kinda screwed. I still have differential equations and half of a client proposal to finish by noon tomorrow. Do I pull the all-nighter? Yes." - to myself
Step 1: Let's make my high adrenaline playlist (Trapt - Headstrong
is definitely in order).
Step 2: Hold off on the coffee (I don't want to crash later)
4:00am - Now this is my point of no return. I can still call the whole thing off, go to sleep, and get four hours of rest. Do I stay through? I have to.
6:00am - THE DEADLY CRASH HOUR. Now is when I start to drag. My eyes are droopy; I start to have 30 second drift offs. I might not make it...
I pull my willpower and focus. I look at my work and start going balls to the wall. I make it.
8:00am - I'm pretty good now. My body has given up on sleep. Now is when I reward myself with a cup of strong black coffee with extra sugar (Gotta love cafe dulce).
The rest of the day - I'm pretty good for the rest of my day. Coffee is in order every 3-4 hours. Staying busy is a must. I never let myself have nothing to do after an all-nighter for fear of falling asleep for 12 hours in the middle of the day.
As fellow college entrepreneurs, I am sure that many of you have faced the dilemma of staying up all night to get work finished. Leave your comments and thoughts on how you get it done!
- Steven Jones
5 Comments:
Likewise, life is stressful as a student. I'm an AMP addict.
Ha, I went to Milwaukee School of Engineering and that sounds like my typical Thursday night. Had EE201 Friday at 8am. Oh those were nightmarish days, I could never do that again! Those were before the days of Red Bull.
You know what is funny is that I didn't realize until years after college that not everyone goes through that! I literally didn't realize that engineering was so much harder than say marketing or whatnot.
Don't you just want to laugh when someone complains that they're taking 15 credits a semester?? Try taking DSP and thermodynamics back to back with three other classes. Well, I guess that's why we make the big bucks.
Nice post :-)
Thanks for dropping by The Digerati Life. I congratulate you in your efforts to strike it out while still in school! Very impressive and shows that you have a spirit that will take you far in business. I am from the earlier generation of "young entrepreneurs" who were young during the 90's. And it goes to show that when you have that entrepreneurial bug, you will keep at it -- success will only serve to fire you up even more! Good luck with your endeavors, and Mind Petals looks great!
My biggest problem with all-nighters is the terrible period between 4AM and 7AM, when I desperately feel like sleeping. I can normally survive easily until 4AM - and afte 7AM, I am able to function normally once again (although the world looks a bit blurred and grey to me) - however, those three hours are when I'm at the highest risk of falling asleep. The trick I've learnt is never to fall for the "I'll just lie down and close my eyes for 5 minutes" promise - it can never be kept.
I do tend to completely switch off by about 3-4pm the following day. I did once have 2 all-nighters in a row during a particularly viscious exam week, and I still remember being barely able to see anything at about 4pm on the third day.
Coffee every 4 hours? Let me be the 30th person to tell you this, but you're young! That kind of strain on your heart can make you a heart patient by 35! I myself try to curb the caffeine, and limit it to 1 8-10 ounce cup of coffee a day, which, I'm sure is normal, but I warn you. Just limit, if you still want to be active and energetic at 35 just loving running you company.
Here's some FYI: http://coffeetea.about.com/library/blcaffeine.htm
God Bless,
Mari
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home