The Eternal Dilemma

Exeter has always been a place known for excellence. Every night we are given a loadful of work and are expected to turn it in at top quality. Once we start getting more and more work, however, quality may become difficult to maintain. Besides homework, most of us have other things to deal with like extracurricular clubs, a social life and a good sleep schedule, not to mention sports. When I first came to Exeter, one of the things that I remember someone telling me about is the three S’s; study, socialize and sleep. A lot of people believe that you can only really have two of them at a time, and never all three.Whenever someone walks into class, bragging about how they pulled an all nighter studying, or barely got any sleep, do you look up to them and think they probably more prepared than you, or do you feel bad for them because staying up late studying is not a good idea?In a place like Exeter, students are given a decently large amount of homework. Normally, teachers are only supposed to give fifty or seventy-five minutes worth of homework a night (depending on how many times a week the class meets), but of course there are some teachers who go over the limit. Most students take five courses, that is over four hours worth of homework. Since Exeter offers a lot extracurriculars, one often finds less time for his or her homework, leading to either a late night of homework, an early morning for homework or a night full of sleep and not much homework.Studies have shown that late night studying is not beneficial for students. Staying up late only makes students tired, making it hard for him or her to fully grasp the content taught in class. At some point in the night, when its very late and your eyes start to close, its very hard to stay focused. Furthermore, homework quality and test grades start to drop. A way to make sure students get sleep is lights out, but this has not proven effective because a lot of dorms do not enforce it, and there are ways to get around it.I have often heard “it is better to go to sleep early and get up early,” but how early are you going to get up in order to complete your homework on time? Personally I like this idea of sleeping early and waking up to do homework because its easy to get a decent amount of sleep and you are normally fresh in the morning, not tired after a long day. However, you are under time pressure in the morning which cause you to rush through your homework when you’re running out of time which will consequently decrease the quality of your work. Also, if you are a boarder and go to bed too early, you might miss out on socializing with your dorm mates.Then, there is the method of not doing much homework in the night, and doing it throughout the day. There are two ways this can work. First one is you are doing homework ahead of time, that is, the day before its due. This is one of the best things you can do; it takes up your frees during the day, but frees up your nights, allowing you to socialize in the evening and go to bed on time. However, the second is doing homework the day its due. This takes up the time you have during meetings, lunch and uni-free. Some people skip meals like breakfast and lunch to complete their homework, which is definitely not a healthy habit. Some students even skip classes to finish essays or narratives.In the end, its all about what works best for you. If you manage your time correctly, you can have the best of the three S’s, but most Exonians are still trying to find the balance.