Springtime is upon us. With that comes warmer weather, delicate flower buds, longer days and a newfound feeling of freshness that comes with all things new. Spring is peeling the protective film off a new iPhone. Spring is folding clothes that are warm, fresh out of the dryer. Spring is taking a cold shower on a hot day.
Speaking of laundry and showers, spring comes with the stereotype of a sudden urge to declutter, to deep clean all corners of our houses. As much as I’d like this to apply to the Duke student population, we college students don’t clean our dorm rooms half as much as we claim to. While cleaning our spaces is all very well, there are some areas of our lives that remain neglected year after year. “Spring cleaning” shouldn’t only apply to our physical environment — it doesn’t have to stop at dust bunnies and cobwebs.
If we’re honest with ourselves, there are several areas of our lives that could use some cleaning up. With busy schedules, crowded desktops and stagnant New Year’s ambitions, there’s enough for several seasons over.
Evidently, college students are incredibly busy. This is especially true here at Duke, with the Centennial Celebration, tenting, pledging and midterms occurring simultaneously.
However, there is one solution to a busy life that is so simple and yet underestimated: Just as one might declutter his junk drawer, he should also declutter his routine.
Decluttering can be as significant as abandoning a hefty commitment (I recall leaving my job at the Student Mailbox Center after only two weeks) and as simple as foregoing a couple of unimportant, uninteresting weekly newsletter events. FOMO is going around faster than the flu these days, with everything from Rush to UNC games to miss out on. However, by releasing unnecessary obligations, college life will start to feel a lot more manageable.
Since writing a research paper for Writing 101, Bookmark Manager has become my new best friend. With assignments, important documents, online resources and endless Instagram posts to keep track of, technological clutter is a monster that is very much real. I see this on the desktops of the students that sit in front of me in class. As much as I’d like to see a picture of their dog or a cool mountain range, there are so many files — all on top of one another — that the desktop background is difficult to decipher. (Although, this might also be a cool strategy to fend off potential hackers — who could ever guess that one’s tax records are named “Document 4” or “kjgnri.pdf” or “IMPORTANT123”?)
Jokes aside, technological clutter is just as distracting and unproductive as physical clutter. With a push towards converting everything to online, I wouldn't be surprised if some Duke students had yet to use a printer this year. Then, an organized online platform is key to efficiency. I’m looking at unread inboxes, unnamed files, unused apps. Get rid of it all — if you change your mind, “undo” is one click away.
The average human brain takes in around 74GB of data every day. Thus, it is no wonder that our minds always feel so overcrowded. And while a long walk with a friend can be a good outlet for a “trauma dump,” this friend probably has enough things to worry about as it is. Online journal use is on the rise — if your thoughts feel disorganized, there could be some benefit to writing them down.
Now, as spring semester freshmen, we might say that our relationships with other students are at least somewhat settled. Therefore, our lives require some introspection: Which relationships do we value the most? It’s important to ask ourselves this so that we may prioritize — after all, our time and energy are limited. There’s no need to cut people out of your life completely, if they’re not causing any harm. However, choose how to split your time wisely. Give priority only to those who deserve it.
Especially when trying to maximize academic potential in a top college, our harmful tendencies can really get in the way. I was recently advised not to smoke unless I’d already started. While this was all said to me in a lighthearted context, bad habits are a serious topic. Although they’re hard to let go of, bad habits can too be eradicated.
Completely opposite to this, trying to upkeep too many good habits might also be a bad idea. If you’ve been keeping up with my articles, you’ll remember my “guide” to creating achievable New Year’s goals. January has just ended, which means our free trial is over. If your list of goals is overwhelming, it might be worth slimming down.
After all of these considerations, the classic conclusion hits us like a truck: less is more. So, get yourself fewer desktop files, fewer bad habits, events to attend, friendships to keep track of. Your next step is clear. Start working some Marie Kondo magic into your life. Start tasting that cathartic freedom. Then, we shall step into spring with a lighter foot, with less clothes on our shoulders and less worries on our minds.
Anna Garziera is a Trinity first-year. Her column typically runs on alternate Wednesdays.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.