Students are procrastinating bedtime in order to deal with the high-stress of virtual university
While the now universally recognized COVID-19 pandemic rages on, there is another, far more common disease that has fully sunken its claws on McMaster University students: revenge bedtime procrastination.
COVID-19 may at least have a chance of defeat against your physique’s loyal antibodies, but this disease engulfs your mind entirely until it is in a constant battle with itself between what you desire versus what you need.
What is revenge bedtime procrastination, you may ask? This phrase was originally coined in China by workers as a sort of personal retaliation against their 12-14 hour workdays and describes the phenomenon where one purposefully “procrastinates” and delays a practical bedtime to avoid repeating the same exhausting weekday routine time and time again.
The purpose of this action is to somehow accommodate leisure time in what is otherwise an extremely exhausting work schedule. In fact, our mental, physical and spiritual need for leisure is so valued that we are willing to sacrifice another equally valuable and necessary component of our lives: sleeping.
Despite knowing the horrible outcome of RBP in one’s everyday life, people, specifically students, simply cannot stop engaging in willful self-destruction in a high-pressure environment like McMaster.
I believe we can attribute this phenomenon to the way our educators and McMaster have structured online education. There is a common misconception that online university, due to its moderately unsupervised nature and self-paced learning style is somehow easier. Yet, this could not be farther from the truth.
In order to compensate for the in-person university experience and to not compromise the quality of education, professors have deemed it suitable to give out the same amount of work, if not more than they would usually give, as we are spending all of our time at home.
However, what our professors have failed to consider is that an in-class experience is not directly translatable to an online environment. Now that students are forced to teach themselves through hours and hours of modules, read online textbooks and constantly be on Zoom and other social media to stay connected, many are unwittingly finding themselves spending a good 12-14 hours of their day at a desk in their room in an effort to keep up with all the work.
The constant flow of content behind a screen at an unprecedented rate (pun intended) has left students scrambling to cling on to any precious facet of their life that is not bound to the stark white chains of Avenue to Learn.
Some of us have stopped exercising, reading books for pleasure, making art and music, spending time with our families and living in the present moment. Rather we are so exhausted from the demands of online school, that we have given up on the hobbies we truly love, which used to keep us intellectually stimulated and gave us an identity.
The only thing we have the energy to do after a long workday with minimal effort is to spend even more time on a screen, in the form of mindlessly scrolling through TikTok. Our perpetual exposure to blue light during the day and at night huddled under the covers on our phones only exacerbates RBP by disrupting our natural REM sleep cycle as countless healthcare professionals have warned.
McMaster’s students are human as well and we are deserving of work that can be completed within normal workday hours without severely impeding our sleep and leisure. When the spirit of the student body is crushed, it brings down the very quality of the university itself.
Dear professors:
When you post a nice message encouraging us to take breaks and go on walks, please sincerely allow us an opportunity to do so. Because until you do, the RBP way of life will be the only one students will know for the foreseeable future.
By: Saadia Shahid
How does a student get good grades? I know the most obvious answer being shouted out is “by studying, of course,” with some sarcastic replies of “watching Netflix” thrown in the mix. But what if I told you both those answers were correct?
A balance of socializing and studying, which can include watching Netflix, is necessary to achieve those highly sought-after grades.
Though our cognitive needs are met by virtue of being university students, it is our need for "love and belongingness" that is present on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Socializing is a basic human need. To become functioning members of the society, we must engage in leisure activities.
Yet, we almost never put time aside to socialize with our friends. Even when we do, studying takes precedence and ends up taking over the time we allocated for socializing.
This is often a result of procrastination. Whether it is procrastinating by scrolling through clickbait articles or watching videos, when we procrastinate, we take away time from both socializing and studying.
Procrastination is also looked down upon so badly. Rarely do we try to understand why the person might be engaging in procrastination. Procrastination is a sign of anxiety.
In my opinion, procrastination is often a hugely unrecognized sign, too. Besides anxiety, procrastinating habits have been linked to depression and low self-esteem.
If you find your friend procrastinating, don’t “leave them alone so they can study”. Study with them. If left alone, they may continue procrastinating for even longer, and worsen their mental health.
Some people do emphasize their preference for studying alone. In that case, make sure they’re okay and continually check on their progress and their mental health. In severe cases of anxiety, they may even lie about it.
As a perfectionist, I speak from experience. My habit of procrastination stemmed from being anxious about the imperfect outcome that might ensue. As a result, I took longer getting started on assignments with the thought that if I didn’t do well, I could justify it by telling myself that I didn’t have enough time.
So far this year, I have been doing better as I have come to terms with the non-existent nature of perfection. This is something creatives struggle with as well. Things like “is this good enough?”, “should I post this now?” and “I want to make this better” are examples of what goes through their minds on a regular basis.
So how do you achieve the grade you’ve been aiming for? Consistency is the answer. Being consistently diligent with your workflow will not just aid in improving your skills, but also get you your coveted grade. Doing well in a course is a long-term goal, and definitely doesn’t occur when you start an assignment a day before its due.
Procrastination also leads to long hours of isolation in the library behind laptop screens or a stack of books, taking away the satisfaction of “love and belongingness”, and according to Maslow, halting an individual’s growth.
So, the next time you find your friend procrastinating, ask them why, take them out to get them relaxed and help them get started on their studying. Mental health is no light issue.
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1. Twelve Eighty
Whether it be for a quick lunch in between classes or a “let’s forget our assignments” #ThirstyThursday, 1280 is a place all Marauders have visited at least once to aid their procrastination. There’s a drink menu appropriately named to make you feel like you’re studying, and a food menu comprised of cheap “study” snacks of questionable quality. If 1280 doesn’t help distract you from learning, I don’t know what will.
2. Cootes Paradise
Not only a great location for impromptu photo shoots, the wetland located just north of Campus is also a quiet place to relax and be one with nature. Cootes offers three hiking trails (or more if you decide to create your own) and a landscape so undeniably beautiful it will help you provide some variety amongst the selfies in your Instagram feed.
3. Club Space
Usually bustling with people from various meetings or events, Club Space is a microcosm of the McMaster community. Since McMaster has more than 300 different clubs, Club Space represents our schools flourishing diversity. You can join in some jams with MacBeat on Thursday nights, or battle a friend through tabletop games with the McMaster Board Game Society. Club Space always has something cool going on to help you forget about your responsibilities. Plus there’s usually free food kicking around.
4. The McMaster Museum of Art
Voted Most Likely Place to Show Up on a Mac Student’s Instagram Account (if we’re not counting the arch), the McMaster Museum of Art is the perfect place to get that thoughtful, artistic picture. The art may be as confusing as the midterm you’re avoiding studying for, but hey, at least it looks nice. The exhibits change semi-frequently, making it easy to re-visit so you can achieve that quality #InstaArt aesthetic. Who knows, you may also learn something while you’re there too!
5. Spotted at Mac
If you’re the type who likes to avoid work in class as well, then Spotted at Mac is the right procrastination spot for you. Although not technically a physical spot on campus, the popular student-run Facebook page is a place entrenched in the Mac community where you can easily waste an hour if need be. Spotted at Mac has content running back to January 2014, meaning there’s plenty of relatable McMaster posts to laugh at. If anything, you’ll be able to find some dank Mac memes to tag your friends in, helping them to procrastinate too.
6. David Bradley Athletic Center (DBAC)
You can’t run away from your assignments, but you can certainly try to at the David Bradley Athletic Center. Smash your anger out on the squash court, sweat out your tears at the Pulse or soak up the unproductivity in the pool, DBAC has it all. The athletic center was essentially built for students to take a break from studying, so you really can’t go wrong with going with a quick workout.
7. The Silhouette Office
Operating since the 1930’s, the Sil’s office has had arguably the longest standing relationship with procrastination at Mac. While, yes, the staff do manage to meet their deadlines (most of the time), the office is a place for relaxation, peer-based learning and fun times. If you listen in and hear the echoes of Phil Kim’s cackle, you KNOW work isn’t being done.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKD6HDYji2v/?taken-by=mcmastersilhouette
