Six tips for pulling a successful all-nighter

Written by Negan Fu

So you have to pull an all-nighter.

Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. Not us responsible ones who are good at time management, but the people like you have all been there. To help you out, we’ve come up with several useful tips for taking on an all-nighter.

Tip #1: Stack up on snacks

This isn’t a commonly overlooked step, but it’s an important one regardless. You’ll most likely get hungry during your all-nighter, so make sure you have a few snacks on hand. However, certain foods are better at helping keep you awake than others. Foods and drinks with caffeine, like dark chocolate, will give you an energy boost, as will whole grains and fruits packed with vitamin C. Stay away from refined carbohydrates though; as tempting as that microwaveable ramen may seem, it might not be your best option for preventing drowsiness.

Tip #2: Take silent dance breaks

Of course, you shouldn’t just rely on eating to get you through the night. Getting up and moving around will get your juices flowing, and will let you temporarily take your mind off your work. We recommend dancing around a bit, but with light movements. After all, there are people sleeping who actually did complete their work, and you wouldn’t want to wake those studious individuals up.

Tip #3: Listen to music that’ll get you energized

When you’re taking your silent dance break(s), or even when you’re just struggling through your homework, you’re going to want some music that hypes you up. Here are a few song suggestions to add to your playlist (if they’re not already on there):

“HUMBLE”. – Kendrick Lamar

“Shake It Off” – Taylor Swift

“American Idiot” – Green Day

“Girlfriend” – Avril Lavigne

“Love Me” – The 1975

“Don’t Stop Me Now” – Queen

“99 Problems” – Jay Z

“Rock Your Body” – Justin Timberlake

“All Star” – Smash Mouth

Tip #4: Binge-watch “The Office,” but only in three-minute segments

Watching “The Office” can be a great stress-reliever, and when you’re stressed to the max during your all-nighter, you’ll probably want to turn to the workplace mockumentary to comfort yourself. Clearly, you already waste a lot of time in general, as indicated by you having to pull an all-nighter, so be smart about how much time you spend watching. After an hour or so of work, reward yourself with three-minutes of Dunder Mifflin shenanigans, then return to the grind. Be sure you don’t go past three minutes though. Otherwise, you could get sucked in for a whole episode. Or ten.

Tip #5: Check out SCAD District’s website

Can’t get enough John Krasinski by watching “The Office”? Why not check out SCAD District’s interview with the actor and wife Emily Blunt? Or one of the many other videos or articles on District’s website. In case we haven’t already made it obvious, it can be beneficial to give your mind a temporary distraction from school work, and we think checking out a nice District piece is a good way to go.

Tip #6: Do your laundry

At 3 a.m., there’s a good chance of the laundry rooms being pretty much empty. Take advantage of this by knocking out your laundry while you finish your work. It’ll give you a reason to get up and stretch your legs and you’ll have clean, fresh clothes for the morning.

Hopefully, these tips will be helpful for getting you through your all-nighter. We’re confident that you will learn from this experience and grow into a more studious SCAD bee, but we suggest you save this article to your bookmarks, just in case.