Today I handed in the Literature Review portion of my Dissertation, a big milestone in completing my third year of University. *throws party over finishing it, then remembers the other million things I have to do before I can graduate*.
This hand in is the first that I haven't been stressed about. I spent the first two years at University, making myself ill with worry about deadlines and basically, being bloody miserable.
But not this time.
I've come to the revolutionary realisation, it's not worth it.
Getting an awesome grade, it's not worth being ill, being miserable, being in a constant state of panic and stress. It's not worth it. What's the worse that happens if you don't get the grade you want? You retake an exam, you rewrite an essay, even if you have to resit an entire year, surely that's a better option than being unhappy?
For this hand in, I split my word count into manageable chunks (400 words a day) and went through my planner and assigned a chunk to a day, making sure I had plenty of days off interspersed. I forced myself to get writing, and allowed myself a few days at the end to clean it up. I stopped after my 400 words, and moved on to something else. I didn't let myself get sucked into a spiral of stress and worry and work that doesn't end. And it felt so good.
What I've learnt? None of it really matters. Being healthy, and happy, they are the single most important things. Nothing else matters.
If I can give one piece of advice to all of you, it's get perspective. Figure out what is most important in your life, and don't let any of the other stuff bother you.
I only hope I can keep this calm state of mind as my final deadline approaches!
