Goodnight classes.

Goodnight chair. Goodnight paper. Goodnight pen. Goodnight screen. Goodnight lecture theatre. Since my first year of university, I have had 5 night classes, 3 of which are in this semester.  Night classes, especially when you commute from far away and have a class at 10 AM the same day can be quite rough. But you aren't alone in experiencing this.  I too, have struggled with night classes and continue to struggle with them. However, lately I've noticed an improvement in my concentration in night classes.  Here's what I do to cope: 1) For long days: I make sure I am occupied.  Whether it is taking a nap, praying on campus, doing work in the library or doing extracurriculars, I have to keep myself busy.  Otherwise a six hour break will seem like an eternity. 2) I don't attempt to do work when I get home.  I try to make the most use of my long days and weekends and avoid trying to stay up doing work when I get home. Especially if I have to get up early the next morning. I come home, relax, watch some TV and go to sleep. 3) I try to take some sort of stimulant before your class. Be this an energy drink or coffee, whatever works.  After a long day, I find that if I don't have something to boost my energy, I start to become unfocused in my evening lectures. For me a good cup of Diabolos coffee seems to do the trick. 4) I find that if you really don't need/like the course, drop it.  If it's becoming a pain and a serious stress to attend these classes and you find you are only mildly interested, you should consider swapping it with another day time class.  Don't push yourself too hard. I haven't done this yet ... yet. 5) PACK FOOD.  Food options downtown and on campus are more expensive and aren't often healthy. I like to bring a lunch from home, along with some snacks that I eat just before my night class. Though occasionally, I'll sometimes indulge and buy some food before class. That's what I do for night classes. Last year I found it to be really rough, thankfully this year, with a few better and more stimulating courses for my night options, I don't find sitting through 6-9 PM lectures to be as tedious. So don't be afraid of night classes, tackle them head on! - Abdullah