Go Outside and Play

Here’s a bit of unsolicited advice: make plans now to go out with friends next weekend. A lot of kids don’t need me to tell them that; their dance card is booked solid from the moment they take the last bite of pumpkin pie on Thursday until long after midnight on Sunday night. So I’m not talking to them. I’m talking to the kids with term papers to write, homework to catch up on and tests to study for who are thinking that the four-day weekend is just what they need now.

I’m not saying to ignore all that schoolwork for four days. By all means, get going on it. But be sure to have time set aside where you go hang out with your friends. Face time with people who make you feel good about being you (these would be your true friends here) is an important stress reliever. And if you spend time with your friends outside, you get a twofer in stress reduction.

Now here’s my prediction of what will happen if you spend all your time trying to work and don’t spend at least a couple hours seeing your friends next weekend. You’ll stare at your computer listlessly for hours, surfing aimlessly, checking into Facebook every couple of minutes, maybe playing computer games for a day or two. You’ll spend several hours, or days, calling all your friends to talk about what they are and you aren’t doing. You’ll watch a few bad movies into the wee hours trying desperately to get some R & R. When you do get going on your homework, you’ll find your mind drifting off topic more than a few times. And in the end, you’ll have accomplished less on the mound of homework on your desk than if you had spent several hours of really focused time on it before going out to the mall, or park, or your friend’s house.

So make your plans for next weekend now. Schedule time for that term paper and time with your friends. Otherwise, time will slide away from you and you’ll find yourself next Sunday night wondering what happened to your four-day weekend.