All Nighters and Other Terrible Habits (Well Really Just the One).

 

I have this really terrible habit that I've had since I was in junior high...

 

I love to stay up all night. Well, maybe love is too strong a word. I sometimes feel like I have to stay up all night to get things done. I used to pull all-nighters to complete big homework projects or long-winded term papers or the occasional party. Now at 27 years old, I find myself staying up all night at least once every six months despite knowing how awful this habit is for me.

 

Last night I didn't get a wink o' sleep (so, as you can imagine, I look SUPER hot right now). I just had important personal obligations and my daily work and job searching and a relatively big freelance project to do. I feel so stressed and uncertain of things that I'm trying to get everything in my power done. There was just a lot on this plate of mine yesterday...and a lot of coffee in my cup to help me get through it all.

 

Though I've always excelled at staying up all night (honestly, it's like one of my greatest talents) I know I need to break this bad habit. I need to learn to schedule things differently and I really need to learn to be able to go to sleep for a few hours and do my work in the morning. I've always been the "I need to get this done right this second!" type. But in learning to be better to myself and really get healthy, I need to cut this out of my life even if it is a fairly rare occurrence. It jacks up my metabolism, energy levels, skin, and sleep patterns. It makes me an emotional grouch at its worst and a deranged, half-asleep child at its best. How have I never learned my lesson that even though I'm getting a TON done during the night, I'm less productive than usual the next day? Is it really worth it?

 

Probably not. So...

 

Goodbye, all-nighters. We've had a great run but your time is done.

 

(Sleep deprivation-induced rhyming. Sorry.)