The Importance of Going Outside
Ever since I was a secondary school student revising for my GCSE exams, I have been reminded time and again by well-meaning people of the importance of taking regular breaks when working. Carefully scheduled 5/10 minutes here and there to break up the monotony of sitting at a desk, staring at books/screens and scribbling notes. As a PhD student, I thought I was doing pretty well with this. I often get up to make warm drinks in the kitchen next door or walk a few meters down the hallway to collect documents from the printer. And yet, I kept finding myself angsty and frustrated, at times even a little claustrophobic, as I sat at my desk, working away on a project I continue to find exciting and stimulating. Right now, I'm not at my most stressed. I'm not chasing nine different people trying to tie ends up for a conference, I'm not simultaneously working on four completely different assessments, and though my mental health has been iffy as of late (cheers for that, depr