Be a "Well Woman"

In case you haven't heard, this week is the National Women's Health Week!

It's almost over, but it's never too late to make a pledge to yourself to become healthier!

I myself have pledged 2 things:

1. Pay attention to my mental health
2. Get active

I hope to pay more attention to my mental health by getting more sleep and by trying to better manage my stress. 

The sleep one is probably going to be especially difficult for me, since I've got moderate insomnia and usually only get about 4.5 hours a night. Sleeping more is going to really throw off my schedule. But that should, in the end, help with the managing stress thing!

I'm also going to be constantly reminding myself that I cannot possible do everything and that is okay. I'm going to make a manageable to do list and if, somehow it does not get done, I will remind myself that it is not the end of the world!

As for the get active part, that's going to be quite a struggle. I'm not going to lie to you: I'm pretty lazy. I used to do at least 10 minutes of blogilates every morning, but it's been a while. And I tried to running thing, but I'm not really a fan.

But I'm going to try it again (okay, maybe I'm going to try walking first.)

I've downloaded the Couch-to-5k app from RunDouble, I have my alarm set for my usual 5am, and I am more motivated than ever! 

I want to look good in my bikini for my cruise in July (Eeek, so excited!) and so I'd like to lose at least 5 pounds. I have 2 months and some determination, so I know that I can DO THIS! 

And the two pledges/goals will apparently help each other out, too!

I've been told that getting regular exercise actual reduces stress levels AND can help you sleep better, so I'm excited! And sleeping obviously helps build energy for exercise, so there's that.

Let's just say that I am super excited about these pledges I've made and the changes I am making in my life! I can't wait to see what I can do and the person I can become. 

Has anyone else made a pledge for Women's Health Week? Or just a general goal you've set for yourself? I'd love to hear about it, and it would be absolutely fabulous to get some inspiration!!

All-Nighter

So, who's a fan of all-nighters? I'm really not sure how I feel about them, especially as I'm currently enduring one right this moment. Hopefully this will be the last one of my undergraduate career, but I guess only these next two weeks will tell.

Oh my God, I only have two weeks left of school. How weird is that??

But, back to the point.

All-nighters.

How do we let it get to the point where we have to force ourselves to stay awake just to finish the work we've been assigned all semester? I know, for me, it's the pressure; I work best under pressure. But that doesn't stop me from freaking out, so sure I won't actually finish my assignment in time. I've never not-finished an assignment, but that doesn't stop me from worrying about it! It's a whole lot of undue stress, honestly.

So, tonight/this morning as I'm writing this term paper that's due at 8 am (why did I just start this???) I'm obviously stressing out about not being able to complete it. This worry is completely unfounded, considering I have almost seven hours to write two more paragraphs, but I worry nonetheless.

So this is my advice for you: don't pull an all-nighter.

Especially if you have plenty of advance notice about the assignment. Sure, procrastinating is fine; I don't get why everybody acts like it's such a big deal. But don't, and I mean DO NOT, procrastinate to the point where you will literally have a 15 page paper due in 8 hours and you haven't even thought about it for two seconds.

And do you wanna know when it gets especially bad?

When you have to pull more than one all-nighter in a row.

I've been 86 hours without sleep before, and I promise you that it is not something I recommend. I showed up to an important presentation with my clothes on backwards and my work sub-par.

Sure, I look back on it and laugh now, but it really was no fun. It was hell. Like I said, not something I recommend.

And all-nighters are just so not good for you. I can already tell that my sleep schedule is going to be fucked up by this. And let's not even discuss my eating habits for the night.

I just really, really hope that this is my last all-nighter. REALLY.