By Oscar Alcock (JD III)
Law school can be a stressful time in people’s lives. The pressures of achieving excellent grades, working, getting involved at university outside of one’s classes and extracurricular activities away from campus can be a heavy load to bear.
It is normal to feel like we are all constantly in motion, struggling to stay afloat. The analogy often thrown around is that law school can be like a duck floating on top of the water. People give the impression that everything is under control, but underneath the surface they are scrambling.
There is no doubt that ambition and drive is essential to get ahead in this world.
However, technology detoxes and mindfulness retreats, among other escapes designed to help us reach a “zen” like state don’t help us manage our busy schedules on a day-to-day basis. They can be enriching experiences but fall into the narrative that we need an escape from inevitable burnout.
Why can’t we just avoid burnout entirely? How can we achieve that?
The short answer is that we need a lifestyle change, not a detox.
Everyone needs down time and should actively schedule time for self-reflection.
Most millennials and certainly Gen Z are addicted to social media and technology and this has widely been shown to contribute to stress and anxiety for students. Social media and devices have become almost inseparable parts of everyday life for most people. But how do we better moderate our use of this technology so we can thrive at law school?
Social media has transformed social interactions. People are now intimately connected in a way which was almost unimaginable only a few short decades ago.
Young people today have grown up in a world of filters, influencers and a comparison culture cultivated by Facebook and Instagram which has contributed to increasing levels of anxiety, depression and eating disorders.
This is not to demonise social media or technology. Social media allows people from far flung regions of the globe to stay connected in a way which has been unthinkable for most of human history. However, social media is chronically overused, and many young people have developed dependency on the dopamine highs which use of the technology brings.
https://www.pickpik.com/balance-stones-sea-beach-pebble-stability-95635
This feedback loop has similar effects to drug, alcohol and gambling addictions. These things aren’t necessarily a problem in and of themselves. Responsible consumption of alcohol and gambling within ones means is not a problem. Likewise, it is the compulsive use of social media and technology which needs to be guarded against.
Devices and social media take away from genuine human interactions. With people’s attention spans becoming shorter and shorter, we have lost the ability to properly have downtime or enjoy an experience for its own intrinsic value, separated from the documentation of that experience and circulating it to the wider world.
It is almost as though people have become afraid of their own thoughts. People need distractions. But genuine reflection shouldn’t be shied away from, it should be encouraged. The liberating effects of meditation, yoga and gratitude journals are testament to this.
Social media and technology are incredible human assets which should be cultivated but we all need to ask ourselves whether we are the masters of the technology or wherever the technology is mastering us?
Ultimately, my formula for thriving at university is simple: work hard and schedule your time, prioritise sleep, limit social media and technology usage to when you are in a positive headspace, find time for genuine human interactions, keep a gratitude journal and practice mindfulness, exercise regularly and find time to meditate.
Nothing here is particularly ground-breaking but sometimes we all need to remind ourselves of the importance of BALANCE.