Author: Jeremy Candelas

It happens to the best of us – you’re usually on point with these kinds of things, but somehow you managed to forget that you have an essay due tomorrow. And a problem set. And a quiz.

Sounds like you’re about to pull an all-nighter – but no biggie. We have you covered with our 6-step guide to surviving an all-nighter.

 

1. Don’t Stress Out

 

First things first: don’t stress. Realize that now is definitely not the time to start panicking. If you wanted to have time to panic, you really should have started your work sooner. But then again, you wouldn’t be having this problem if you had, now would you?

 

2. Stock Up on Caffeine

 

Time to come to terms with reality, and fire up the Keurig. It’s about to be a long night, and you’re going to need something to keep you up. Coffee is often a better (healthier and cheaper) option than energy drinks – and besides, who doesn’t love the smell of a freshly brewed cup of coffee?

 

3. Start Small

 

Okay, now focus. It sounds counterintuitive at first, but start with the easiest task. If you want to get the ball rolling, starting with those small assignments will motivate you to keep working. Starting with your ten-page paper is simply going to leave you drained and unenergized. Even when it comes to your larger assignments, try not to think of them as single projects, but rather as a handful of smaller, easier ones to handle.

 

4. Don’t Slack Off!

 

It will be tempting to just try and power through and get things done in one sitting – but again, this is just going to leave you drained and less productive overall. Take 5-10 minute breaks every hour to do something that isn’t school related, and to forget for just a few minutes that your life is basically falling apart.

 

5. Sleep (Or Don’t)

 

At this point, you’re too tired to function, let alone make an agonizing decision: take a 20-minute power nap or drudge on through what little time you have left before your 9:05? Alternatively, you can kill two birds with one stone and catch a few z’s in class. Your professor can’t really complain, at least you showed up.

 

6. Congratulate Yourself on Your Success

 

Of course, of all the times when it could happen, this will likely be the morning that your professor sends out an email en masse to the class giving a last-minute extension for your assignments. Regardless – you made it, you’re done, it’s finally over now.Although you’ll tell yourself this will be your last all-nighter, we all know the same thing is going to happen again in a few weeks. At least now you’ll be prepared for it.