At some point in the semester if you are not the perfect student like myself (go figure), you realize the rubber has met the road, sleep might as well become a rumor and you and caffeine might as well become besties. Maybe you were slacking or have a professor who goes from zero to a hundred covering more than you can handle or more often than not you have a pesky deadline. What better way to get your life than pulling an all nighter? Of course there are better ways, for starters giving organization a go, but let's just ignore that for a minute, kapish?
First make a list of some of the goals you want to achieve within these few hours. Let them be realistic goals, small ones if you may. It could be covering a few topics in your course outline other than the whole syllabus. Look at it as working smart other than working hard. You could either make a mental list or if you are more of a visual being , write them down and cross them out once you achieve them.
Pulling an all nighter needs you to be all in. I am talking physically, mentally, emotionally. That being said, psychological preparation is a necessity. Your state of mind definitely influences how long you will stay up hitting the books. Once you know the goals you want to achieve and the limited amount of time you have to do this you will be less distracted. You will definitely get a whole lot more from your all nighter.
Have some motivation/ reward system as you read. Reward yourself with a cookie every hour on the hour or a minty sweet to get that sugar rush going. Your milestones don't go unappreciated and it keeps you going towards the next pit stop and the next after that. After satisfying your sweet tooth do not forget to brush to keep them cavities a long way from your pearly whites.
We would all like to imagine that we are lean mean studying machines, but the harsh reality is taking little breaks every now and again does more good than harm during these hard times. Stretch to get some blood flowing, fix yourself a sandwich, a mug of coffee or tea, listen to your favorite jam of the moment (Sorry from the Biebs, just had to throw that in there). You are fired up all over again this time for the homestretch.
At some point in time during the all nighter, reality hits even harder. Chances of you covering everything you intended to are not looking good and you are just about ready to fall into panic mode. One word, prioritize. You may be good at one topic not so great at another, cover the topic that is most challenging first and breeze through the other at a later time . Panic mode has hereby been aborted.
Study in silence. If you are the type that needs music blasting at maximum volume do whatever suits you don't let me bust your bubble. I find that studying without having anything else on has me more productive. Otherwise, lyrics and what I am trying to read mash up to form one hot mess of mush which goes without saying, is not good, not good at all.
So, here's the thing all nighters generally should not be your usual go to. Sure it produces grades above average, but it would probably be easier to study all through the semester on a moderate basis and have nothing but As on your transcript other than going to the extremes. And that's the truth, Ruth (can you tell I just watched Do The Right Thing?)
Have a good one!
