At Bryn Mawr, we have a bunch of unspoken traditions, such as Bryn Marriages, The Hunt is Up, and Done is Good. Each of these things plays an important part in the way that Bryn Mawr students interact within our community. For this blog post, I want to talk about one that I think is the most prevalent, as finals are upon us: DONE IS GOOD!

The idea of “Done is Good” is kind of a preemptive combatant against being perfectionists with work. For example, if you write a paper, you can always keep editing that paper, and changing it, and restructuring it, until forever. Then, you end up turning in a paper that you feel isn’t good enough, while also having spent waaayyyy too much time on it. By saying Done is Good, it’s a way of removing yourself from your work and saying that you’re done with it. I find it to be a really great tip in regards to separating myself from something that I may not feel to be done, but that I know to be done.

We celebrate this idea within our community by having dorm leadership team (DLT) hosted Done is Good hall hangouts. Usually the entire dorm gets together to make lists of the things that they still have to do until they’re done. You would write things like “Sociology final exam,” “Finish Thesis,” and “Clean room before break” on it. Next to each thing that you have to do, you tape a piece of candy to it. That way, when you finish the item, you get to eat a piece of candy! Some people post their done is good lists outside of their room, as a kind of public incentive to finish everything and keep themselves accountable. Other people keep them in their rooms to motivate themselves in a more private manner, while other people (me my sophomore year) eat all the candy in one go. However you go about your list, you’re doing it right.

I find huge satisfaction in finishing my list, and then recycling it. I’m not sure why- maybe because it’s highly symbolic of totally letting go of all of the work I just completed. The ultimate Done is Good is getting rid of your list, and realizing that you have nothing to do. This means that break is officially upon you, and you can enjoy it to the fullest!