The Crimson White Print Edition - August 24, 2023
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2B<br />
Alex Jobin<br />
Staff Columnist<br />
Back in the 1700s, there<br />
was a strange man who<br />
used to plan his day out to<br />
the minute. His name was<br />
Benjamin Franklin.<br />
Franklin would follow his<br />
schedule to a tee, blocking<br />
out time for work, meals,<br />
sleep and even leisure. His<br />
emphasis on keeping a<br />
stringent routine has even<br />
been immortalized in one<br />
of his most famous quotes:<br />
“Early to bed and early to<br />
rise, makes a man healthy,<br />
wealthy, and wise.”<br />
Settling into a routine<br />
may be the best way to<br />
manage the transition back<br />
to academic life without<br />
setting yourself up for a<br />
fall of late nights, lastminute<br />
assignments, and<br />
all-around anxiety. All the<br />
better if you can begin<br />
to ease into that routine.<br />
before returning to the<br />
Capstone.<br />
Now, Franklin’s daily<br />
schedule may have<br />
blurred the line between<br />
organization and psychosis,<br />
but there is actual science<br />
which suggests that keeping<br />
some form of routine can<br />
reward you with significant<br />
benefits in your everyday life.<br />
As we transition back into<br />
the school year, we must<br />
keep routine in mind if we<br />
want to keep up our grades.<br />
Not to mention everything<br />
else the average UA student<br />
has going on.<br />
opinion<br />
Keeping a schedule makes college life easier<br />
Even with jobs,<br />
internships and various<br />
other commitments taking<br />
place, there may be no easier<br />
time for us students to fall<br />
out of behavioral patterns<br />
than over the course of<br />
summer break. Summer<br />
can mean everything from<br />
irregular sleep schedules<br />
to sporadic travel to<br />
meandering hours of honestto-goodness<br />
boredom — and<br />
it’s the best.<br />
However, it lies in stark<br />
relief against the regimen and<br />
responsibility of fall semester.<br />
Settling into a routine<br />
may be the best way to<br />
manage the transition back<br />
to academic life without<br />
setting yourself up for a<br />
fall of late nights,<br />
last-minute<br />
assignments, and<br />
all-around anxiety.<br />
All the better if you<br />
can begin to ease into<br />
that routine before<br />
returning to<br />
the Capstone.<br />
So here’s the science.<br />
When you create and<br />
follow a daily regimen, you<br />
in turn create a domino<br />
effect of health benefits for<br />
yourself. It becomes much<br />
easier to eat better and stay<br />
fit when you have set aside<br />
dedicated times for grocery<br />
shopping and exercise.<br />
It can be easy to find<br />
yourself lost in a sea of other<br />
responsibilities that distract<br />
from these basic healthy<br />
behaviors over the course<br />
of a semester, but keeping a<br />
routine can provide you with<br />
guide rails to ensure you<br />
continue to prioritize your<br />
physical health.<br />
Routine becomes even<br />
more powerful when<br />
considering one’s mental<br />
well-being. According to<br />
Northwestern Medicine,<br />
having a consistent<br />
schedule has been shown<br />
to reduce stress and anxiety<br />
while simultaneously<br />
providing you with more<br />
opportunities for relaxation.<br />
Maintaining a consistent<br />
routine allows you<br />
to tackle your<br />
responsibilities<br />
head-on and can<br />
provide more enjoyable<br />
downtime that won’t<br />
make you feel like you are<br />
procrastinating.<br />
Perhaps the most integral<br />
part of routine — and one<br />
which evades many college<br />
students, including myself<br />
— is forming a regular sleep<br />
schedule. Having consistent<br />
bedtime habits has been<br />
found to improve “mental<br />
sharpness, emotional well-<br />
CW / Shelby West<br />
being and energy” — all of<br />
which are indispensable<br />
when facing the rigors of<br />
academia. Establishing a<br />
routine for your waking<br />
hours will translate into more<br />
regular sleeping patterns,<br />
creating a positive feedback<br />
loop of health benefits.<br />
No matter what our<br />
ultimate ambitions are, we<br />
all share a common thread<br />
as students at <strong>The</strong><br />
University of Alabama: we<br />
are all working to garner the<br />
skills and tools necessary for<br />
succeeding and achieving our<br />
future goals. <strong>The</strong> importance<br />
of having a strong, healthy<br />
foundation cannot be<br />
overstated when it comes to<br />
this endeavor, and routine<br />
is the perfect place to start<br />
building that foundation.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are few examples<br />
of someone who was able<br />
to realize their ambition as<br />
impressively as Benjamin<br />
Franklin. Of course, like<br />
any of America’s Founding<br />
Fathers, he was not a perfect<br />
man. However, flaws aside,<br />
Franklin was successful in<br />
achieving nearly everything<br />
he set his mind to — and he<br />
set his mind to a lot.<br />
He crafted a lofty legacy<br />
for himself in journalism,<br />
politics, philosophy and<br />
science, even establishing<br />
long-lasting institutions<br />
like fire departments<br />
and libraries. Franklin’s<br />
life was one marked by<br />
accomplishment. It does<br />
not appear coincidental<br />
that Franklin’s life was also<br />
marked by strict routine.<br />
But to be truthful, I care<br />
far more about the future<br />
Benjamin Franklins than<br />
Franklin himself. Our<br />
generation is on the cusp of<br />
inheriting the reins of the<br />
great American experiment,<br />
and we should strive to be<br />
great ourselves. We should all<br />
wish to succeed and to fulfill<br />
our academic, personal and<br />
professional potential. We<br />
can start with routine.<br />
Gradually transition into<br />
a more consistent sleep<br />
schedule. Set goals for<br />
yourself that will prioritize<br />
both your mental and<br />
physical health. Add these<br />
practices to your calendar so<br />
that you have a template you<br />
can follow on a daily basis.<br />
Creating and adhering to<br />
a routine can feel like a hefty<br />
task, but the science does<br />
not lie. If you are able to find<br />
a routine that works for you,<br />
then you will be empowered<br />
to live a happier, healthier<br />
and more successful life. I<br />
will certainly be trying to find<br />
a routine this semester, and<br />
I encourage you to do the<br />
same.<br />
Your grades, and your<br />
future, will thank you later.<br />
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