College life can be really tough. Trying to balance social life, difficult classes, extracurriculars, projects, and more, is not an easy feat for anyone. It’s really easy to get into a bad sleep cycle, overschedule yourself, and neglect self-care. This can cause burnout, which can be characterized by feeling tired, stressed, and mentally + physically exhausted for the majority of your day. However, there are steps that can be taken to avoid it.
Know Your Limits
A lot of burnout is caused by simply doing too much. It can be tempting to want to join every club, go to every social event, or take every single interesting class. However, nothing is as important as your physical and mental well-being, so if these things are being compromised, then that might be a sign that you need to cut back on your commitments. Recognizing how much we can balance is a vital step in preventing burnout.
Prioritize Sleep
This may seem like a no-brainer, but the truth is that a lot of teenagers and young adults don’t get as much sleep as they should be getting. Your brain functions better when it’s well rested, and the rest of your day will be more productive if you get a good night’s sleep. Getting into a cycle of not enough sleep while still trying to stay up with all your commitments can cause stress, and eventually burnout. A helpful trick is to set a specific amount of hours to sleep every night, and create a schedule for your day that allows for it. Sleep should come first over most other things – it gives you the energy to do everything else!
Be okay with saying no
The fear of missing out, FOMO, is very common in teenagers and young adults. In college, especially at the beginning, there is a pressure to go to parties and have a ton of friends. I’m sure we’ve all felt the feeling of missing out before; when you see your friends posting on social media about a party you couldn’t attend, and you feel like everyone is having fun but you. These are real, valid feelings, but there’s nothing wrong with turning down a social event or hangout once in a while. Saying yes to every opportunity to be social is tempting, but it can also compromise your sleep, schoolwork, and responsibilities, leading to excessive stress and exhaustion. I promise no one will judge you if you say, “Hey, I don’t think I can make it tonight, I need to study and get some sleep.” Prioritizing yourself is so important, and your physical and mental health should come before anything else.
Hopefully this helped you to identify the signs of burnout, and some helpful tips to avoid it. Remember prioritizing yourself is not selfish, it’s healthy.