body fibers

Today is The Saturday Before the Prelim. Last Saturday, I was doing other things other than studying thinking "I've got about two weeks to study! I can learn anything in that time!" Well, one week is already gone. I've only got the 'about' left.

With all this studying means a lot of sitting in non-ergonomic positions at the library, coffee shops, my desk, you name it, balancing papers, old prelims, a year's worth of notes and exams, and my computer, leaning over and under and sideways, pivoting without moving my bum, generally not being nice to my body.

Add that to eating poorly at all hours (which stems from not having much food that I want to eat and not enough time or patience to cook the food I want or go get easier food), not sleeping well, and next to no exercise. Plus the mind games of "what if I don't pass?" and guilt when I'm NOT studying and low spirits to high spirits depending on what I know when.

My poor body is rebelling. Today I can barely sit up straight for the muscle stiffness in my back and neck. I've been wearing my glasses for days because my eyes refuse to deal with contacts. My bad knee is even starting to ache again.


So what's a girl to do?

Start taking care of her body, that's what.

For starters, I'm taking the morning off of studying. I studied hard all day yesterday and am meeting up with other MGG first-years to study this afternoon, and I want to be fresh for it.

I'm going to try really really hard to get to the gym every day this week. (Except Thursday, I'm not quite THAT optimistic.) And I'm going to try to take it easy in there, but I need to get my body moving again.

I used to be quite fit, and, when I was, I felt better, I could do more, and I was happier. But this week, I'm just going to get moving. When I get back from my various adventures in the next few weeks, I'm going to dig out my work-out schedule when I was getting ready for the wilderness trip -- I do much better when I have a plan.

Plus, exercise has been found to have positive psychological benefits -- that's right, it means it'll make me less stressed out, better centered, allow me to channel my Caldwellian spirit. AND studies have shown that studying while exercising doesn't have the same benefits as the same exercise without. Which also means I'll have to take a break and let my mind relax.

So here's to keeping sane and getting back on speaking terms with my body!