Toxic productivity culture defines the way we interact with nearly every component of our lives on Harvard’s campus. Though it can feel insurmountable to tackle the vast and varied tasks that accumulate in light of our inattention to them, we owe it to ourselves to seize a free moment when it does arise. Though the scarcity of free time on Harvard’s campus is seemingly cherished among its students, beneath this facade is a real struggle to relax.
Decluttering your life is not simply making your bed and journaling once in a while. While helpful and productive, I argue that the extent to which burnout plagues Harvard students necessitates concerted time and effort toward stepping back and micro-analyzing what in your life you can reposition to account for the toll of constant stress on our lives.
In order to declutter your life in earnest, your actions need to align with your individual definition of what it means to be put together. For some, being put together means going through an old drawer and throwing out scattered papers and pens, while for others, it means fostering strong relationships, pursuing intellectual growth, and taking the time to focus on your emotional well-being. Wherever you fall and no matter how superfluous or overwhelming the typical self-care instructions may feel, embracing the decluttering process necessitates introspection, self-awareness, and a willingness to embrace a change that resonates authentically with your vision of a fulfilling life.
With that, I propose the following highly idealized schematic to indulge in your free time and escape burnout:
First, go to sleep and genuinely forgive yourself. Whatever your initial response to that sentence is, the essence of it is to forget what happened the day before, what work didn’t get done, what awkward interaction you had, how late it is, and simply sleep in. Don’t set an alarm and actually don’t worry about sleeping in until 1:00pm. If you’re not rested, your foundation to truly feel put together becomes precariously fragile.
Once you’re up, make the biggest to-do list of your life and be thorough. No one is checking what you add, so if crossing off “wake up” from your theoretical list brings you joy, absolutely add it: embrace each and every task you accomplish and allow yourself to indulge in making it beautiful (add a few stickers, make the font something new and eccentric; the sky’s the limit).
Feed yourself well. Without pressuring yourself to eat what you think is socially acceptable, get whatever breakfast is going to make you feel well-fed and nurtured (not punished!). If you’re a coffee drinker, walk yourself to your favorite coffee shop and guzzle down something that you consider to be perfect. Take a few vitamins, even if you don’t believe in their direct benefits, and maybe add an electrolyte drink or Emergen-C to the rotation for good measure. Clean and fill up your water bottle.
Now, as dreaded, deep clean your space. No. Stone. Left. Unturned. If your surroundings reflect time, love, and having your life together, perhaps you’ll gradually internalize a sense of having things together too. Despite the aggression that underlies this way of thinking, it’s worth it. Wash your sheets, scrub your desk, vacuum, clean the mirrors, clean the inside of your backpack, do the dishes, pick up your packages, fold your clothes, disinfect everything, color-coordinate your closet, throw away clothes, toiletries, and other in items you no longer use (EMPHASIS ON RANDOM PAPERS!). Move around a random piece of furniture, open the windows, light a candle you love, and, most importantly, allow yourself to leave your living space without it existing as a burden in your life.
Now that your space is in order, do your favorite workout. Whatever you have the bug for, be it a class, watching a video from your room, or lifting at the MAC, go where the endorphins most reliably hit and sweat. No better way to forget about your problems than by literally running from them!
Once you’re sufficiently exercised, shower more than you’ve ever showered in your life. I mean that. Break out the loofa, shave, pumice your heels, do a hair mask, and appreciate the languor you’re allowing yourself. Though I’ll admit that this is rather excessive, this day is supposed to be a retroactive gift to yourself above all else. Once you’re out of the shower, do your skincare routine, do a facemask, slather on some lotion, and put on something comfy that is not sweatpants—we are trying to achieve a baseline of ‘put together’ after all.
Leave your space and, critically, walk to whatever space on/off campus is inspiring you most as of late. Make a playlist for your exact mood, based on a picture, to set the tone for the month, or whatever will even get you excited to listen to music and express yourself. Explore a new genre. Get out of whatever rut exists in your life even if you can’t name it.
Next, organize your tech: delete old tabs and screenshots on your computer, review large files, delete or backup pictures from your phone, organize your folders on Google Drive, and eliminate the distraction of action items constantly in your central line of vision on your desktop. Go through emails and sort them systematically such that, again, they’re not hanging over your head. Allow yourself to be free from their burden and move on with your life. What’s more, go through old texts and their associated actions/notifications you’ve been avoiding and face the music. Respond to everything and reach out to the friend you’ve been meaning to connect with while you’re at it.
To top off your mindfulness, journal for ten minutes. Time yourself but, again, allow those emotions to flow. Whatever is left in you that’s bugging you, attempt to let out. While easier said than done, make the task small by timing yourself but do allow the space for fun with prose and some beautifully dramatic paragraphs about how school sucks and why love life is the way it is for x, y, and z reasons.
Finally, now that you’ve followed the rubric for the most perfect, hard-core day of organization in your life, you have a choice (!). Overwhelmed with schoolwork? Go conquer your task list: write every single thing you have to do down and just get started. Follow the Pomodoro method, listen to your new playlist, or find a new study space to make the exercise of it all feel fresh. If not, then, as I recommend, engage in a meaningful social activity: go thrifting with friends, have a picnic, get outside, get moving, and get talking about the things that actually matter to you with people you care about.
Though some scheduled, theoretical day may seem like the perfect solution for your end-of-semester blues, the rise of minimalism makes it easy for us to imagine how a streamlined life will solve all of our problems. However, to allow yourself to feel the chaos inherent to life is one of the hardest lessons of our adolescence. Getting back ‘on track’ will never truly lead you to perfection, and the apex of the decluttering process should be knowing that you care enough about yourself to pour time into each component of your life.
Plus, what’s better than procrastinating school work with self-care? The struggle to feel anxiety-free on Harvard’s campus is no small one, so whether a regimented day of pampering yourself and organizing your life is exactly what you do or do not need, allow yourself the grace and freedom to live your life on your own terms.
Clara Corcoran ’25 (claracorcoran@college.havrard.edu) recommends a social media cleanse while you’re at it.