I sat in my bed with my phone in hand, scrolling aimlessly, landing on yet another video of a girl’s seemingly perfect college experience. That was my sign to put the phone down and shift my focus back to my laptop, where a blank document stared back at me without a single word written in the last hour. Even without the distraction of my phone, it felt like my brain still couldn’t manage to piece a single thought together except for the fact that I still had countless other assignments to finish.
There’s no doubt that comparison happens when scrolling through social media. One video after the other is perfect people, perfect routines, and everyone seeming like they have their life together from the moment they graduate high school. Users boast about juggling internships, jobs, school, and time for self-care with seemingly no ounce of struggle.
What happens when students find all of these responsibilities hard to juggle? We become stuck in a cycle of trying to achieve that level of effortlessness while all we’re truly feeling is burnout.
Experiencing burnout.
From the moment I started college, I was sure of my career choice in journalism, and I was excited to figure out what path I would go down. I was a freshman with no experience and barely any worries except my notebooks matching my pencil case. Now here I am at year two, juggling multiple internships, a job, school, and my sanity.
The importance of getting experience is drilled into a lot of us students, with more than two-thirds of the 2024 graduating class having engaged in an internship of some sort. And it doesn’t end there for the 70% of students who have to work in order to pay for college. Not to mention, working more than 20 hours per week has been consistently linked to lower academic performance, bringing on a whole new set of challenges for worker-first students.
Then comes the actual schoolwork itself, which consumes many days and sleepless nights. On top of that, I still try to find time to take care of myself and take part in hobbies and activities that bring me joy.
All of this combined is practically a recipe to burnout, which I have learned the hard way. I’ve found myself slacking in areas that I know I could do better in, but my chronic stress and tired state rejects the idea. It all comes back during my 3:00 a.m. reflections where I wonder if I’m doing all this extra work for nothing. Somehow, without fail, I always manage to convince myself that I must stay productive, despite the effects that overworking myself has on my mental and physical health.
The influence of hustle culture.
The idea of not stopping even when you’re tired is not a new norm. Hustle culture is embedded in our country’s belief that hard work will always determine success. The 21st century saw a particular rise of this idealism, where we witnessed phrases like “rise and grind” and “maximize productivity.”
The early 2000s saw recessions and national disaster, but they also saw success stories like Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs. Millennials took on the idea that working long hours and not stopping would bring them a success that is never guaranteed.
While Generation Z has shifted the conversation towards prioritizing mental health and well-being, the remnants of this mindset still linger through social media. Trends with hustle culture influence come and go, where I’m being told by five different influencers to “lock in,” try 75-hard, build up my LinkedIn, and apply for countless internships all at once.
This hustle mindset has been tied to burnout and can even develop into anxiety, an apathetic attitude, guilt, and more. I’ve found myself falling for the hustle culture ideals out of fear of our difficult job market and the world that lies beyond school.
Though I am grateful to have developed work ethic and determination, I want to bring a new version of myself into the new year where I can miss a day or do one less internship and it won’t feel like the end of the world.
How I handle burnout.
Despite not having graduated yet and fully entering the workforce, I have had a fair share of run-ins with burnout and stress. There are a few lifelines I have for handling this, as well as some that I’d like to start implementing for the rest of my college career.
Reset Day
An excuse I’ve found myself using time and time again is that I don’t even have time to set aside a day for rest. I found that I kept excusing my lack of planning with having to keep doing assignments to get ahead or having to spend my free time being productive. When I did have nothing to do, I convinced myself that I had to make the most of that free time by spending time with friends, since I was often too busy to do so any other time.
It wasn’t until I thought about the fact that I have free will that I realized I could utilize one of my days off from work and school to simply invest time into myself — forgetting about the obligations I felt I had to other people and just putting myself first for one day.
On these reset days I enjoy starting the day off right with a simple morning routine, planning out the following week to minimize stress, and prioritizing cleaning up my space at my own pace.
Engaging in hobbies or support
Even though I sound like a broken record from the number of times people say it, engaging in hobbies is so important. One of my biggest stressors that led to burnout is the idea that the work I do is the most valuable part of my life.
Participating in hobbies that I enjoy and surrounding myself with people that I love being around helped me restore my sense of self. Despite what hobbies the internet tried to convince me were cool, I found activities I enjoyed outside of the opinions of others.
Setting boundaries
I’ve always found it difficult to set boundaries with the people in my life, no matter if it’s friends, family, work, or school. I’ve always felt a responsibility for other people’s feelings, preventing me from making decisions that were in my best interest.
When I started to feel the effects of burnout, having to constantly meet these imaginary expectations I believed other people had of me only dug me further into a hole. Now, I practice setting respectful boundaries and making sure I prioritize the time I need to be alone before worrying about others.
Despite the endless hustle culture methods that social media made me believe I needed to try , I discovered the ways to take care of myself that worked for me. Battling burnout was no longer scrolling with no intent, but rather investing time into myself.