School/college has started nearly everywhere, so I thought this would be a good time to diverge from my medical analogy articles and talk about the main overachiever habits that resurface with the start of school. I’ve already felt the impact, so I know my fellow overachievers have as well.
Let’s cover three common school habits that overachievers tend to ignore and brush off as harmless.
Part 2 - Mistake 2: Planning Everything but Recovery
You schedule classes, meetings, clubs, maybe even homework sessions on your calendar. But have you ever added blocks for rest?
By simply deciding not to add rest to our plans/calendar, we categorize it as inferior to everything else. However, as discussed in part 1, rest is anything but inferior; it is of equal importance to – if not more important than – the work itself.
Let’s put this in the context of a student you can resonate with:
Ariana’s Google Calendar looked like a work of art — color-coded blocks from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. every single day. Classes, club meetings, practice, homework: everything was planned out.
For months, it worked. She met every deadline, made every meeting on time, and felt unstoppable.
She thought she was thriving.
Then the unexpected happened – she got sick.
One day off became two, and suddenly her perfect plan was a mess of missed blocks and overdue reminders. Instead of resting, Emma stayed up late trying to “catch up,” which only made her illness worse. By Friday, she felt anxious and defeated, staring at her phone as her carefully crafted schedule fell apart.
What can we do to avoid this? Once again, it’s simple: schedule rest, even if it's just mentally. Acknowledge that life is unpredictable; things will not always go as planned.
The next month, Ariana tried again, but this time, she added “catch-up blocks” and one free afternoon every week. The first time she needed one, it was a lifesaver.
To be continued :)