“Do you really have time to do that?” I hear this question often. The “that” refers to something I deem very useful that still will not improve my GPA, earn me any money or find itself on a resume. The activity at hand is usually related to writing or reading: writing poems, reading the entire New Yorker when it arrives in my Hinman Box or catching up on blog posts from the bloggers I follow a bit too religiously. I like to do these things. Yes, they are enjoyable, but I do not think that makes them frivolous.
One friend told me she does not do things that lead to procrastination. But I do not think reading blogs is procrastinating. I actually see it as an art form. I learn something, I become inspired — and if not, I stop reading. I am fascinated by how personal the bloggers are, and they encourage me to be more vulnerable and honest. Though some material is fluffy, on the whole I do not equate reading blogs with trolling Facebook for a few hours.
Unsurprisingly, many Dartmouth students love reading, yet many say they do not have the time to sit down and read for pleasure. I find this incredibly saddening. I love to read, and I make it a goal to find time to do so. Granted, I do not read full novels every night, but I try to read something completely extracurricular every day. Sometimes I really have no time, but I find it hard to believe that in the course of a week, most students do not have even an hour to spare. And I believe that reading something truly stimulating is worth it.
We all lead incredibly busy academic lives, on top of sports and clubs and socializing and occasionally sleeping. Grades are important (or so I’m told), as are finding a career and being successful. I worry, though, that we are not making enough time for the small, simple activities that bring us pure pleasure. I do not mean the mind-numbing activities, like watching Netflix, done after a long week of midterms when we are too burnt out to do anything else. I mean something pleasing and engaging: a hobby, a form of creative expression, anything that takes the mind to a different place than the rest of our Dartmouth obligations do.
Broadly, this activity could be called “play,” which seems childish. However, there is a lot of research about how play is necessary for adults, too. Playing is how we experience pleasure and novelties, which are not just important in elementary school. There seems to be this “guilty-pleasure” mindset around play, but it is not a shameful thing to want more of in life.
If we make time for things that are stimulating and pleasurable, we will perform better in class, have a healthier mindset and be less stressed. Hobbies are great releases. There are no deadlines, no assignments. However, for this very reason, we often sacrifice play first. We are too tired or too busy to excuse ourselves for mindlessly scrolling through BuzzFeed instead of exerting the extra energy to go to, say, Tip Top Pottery. But if we can schedule those extra activities into our lives even once a week, I trust we will be happier.
I know that during weeks that are particularly crazy, I find it hard to justify making time for something that seems as dumb as sketching when there is so much studying to do. But I also know that when I do not make time to do so I am much more anxious and lose focus, resorting to Facebook and BuzzFeed. I could easily combine my time spent on social media to take a 15-minute drawing break, which would be more fulfilling than looking at random photos of people I hardly know.
As a whole, we aspire to be high-achieving individuals but fail to prioritize our health or happiness. It may seem counterintuitive to further divide our precious time, but carving out a portion of our week for things we are passionate about will make us more productive, relaxed and positive.
