It’s that time of the semester where homework assignments, group projects, and exams seem to come one after another. Midterms are just around the corner and we’re all one paper away from a nervous breakdown.

Experts may say to combat this by meticulously planning your schedule, exercising to relieve stress or making time to spend with friends. All of this is wonderful advice, but my best solution to college burnout is to do absolutely nothing.

When I say nothing I truly mean nothing. Find a day during the week where you can put your responsibilities to the side, and then do nothing all day.

Take a nap immediately after waking up, not because you are tired but because you can. If you’re feeling fancy you can order takeout for one and throw on your favorite comfort film. You don’t even have to see your friends if you’re not feeling up to it; social interactions require energy and the goal is to expel as little energy as possible.

As someone who constantly plans out her schedule and always has something that needs to get done, burnout is a familiar experience. I’ve perfected the art of doing nothing as a way to balance the days where it seems like I do everything.

I like to prep my do-nothing day by staying up until 4 a.m. the night prior, just to ensure that I don’t get out of bed until at least 1 p.m. I’ll then put on some old-school R&B to get the serotonin flowing. For breakfast, I’ll order a personal pizza and cheesy garlic bread, because eating pizza as your first meal is much more satisfying than eating it at a socially acceptable time. For the rest of the day, I’ll switch between napping, watching sitcoms, and scrolling through social media.

Alter your do-nothing day as you see fit, sometimes doing nothing means doing something that you never have the time for. You’ll know you’ve done it correctly if you feel an overwhelming sense of anxiety about the work you put off.

Just kidding. You’ll know you’ve done it right if you can breathe easy and feel confident about putting some effort toward what you need to get done. To those who relate to the constant stress that is college, take my advice, put down the pen, close the laptop and do nothing.

Destiny Blanchard is a junior management major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or dblanchard@eiu.edu.