We all hit the wall at a certain time in the semester. It feels like all we do is study and the work is taking over our lives. We become overwhelmed with the school work looming over us. If you are afraid of entering study to burn out or are in the middle of study burn out, these tips will change your life and how you study.
How to avoid burn out?
1.Plan and prioritize
Time management is such an important skill to master. When you receive an assignment make sure to write in down in your planner. I find it helpful to create a weekly task list with what school work and tasks have to be done during the week. Figure out what is most important or has an earlier deadline and has to be done first. You can even plan out how long you want to work on which class.
2.Work productively
Just because you are doing something doesn’t mean you are doing it productively. If you start to notice that your essay isn’t getting written, maybe it’s time to switch gears and work on another class for a break. When you are studying for a test remember that it always more helpful to use active learning tasks compared to passive tasks, so make some flashcards instead of reading the textbook over and over again.
3.Do not procrastinate
Many college students procrastinate and it is one of the things that can put you into a burnout. Don’t wait for the work to pile up and work on a task a little every day. When you work to make sure you are working in a comfortable and quiet space so that you don’t get disturbed and can avoid distractions.
4.Use the Pomodoro method
When in doubt always use the Pomodoro method to help chunk tasks to study in short intervals. I originally found out about this on Youtube, in the numerous productivity videos a few years ago. The Pomodoro method is when you chunk studying into 25 minutes with a 5-minute break and after around 4 cycles you take a longer break. There have been so many studies proving the method is one of the most effective ways to study. This so effective because us, humans have a very hard time concentrating for long periods of time. But don’t get caught up on specific times, just remember to take a break.
What to do when you have burn out?
1.Take a break and productively procrastinate
When you take a break you don’t always need to scroll on social media. You can do chores or run errands. This can be a great break to do that; take the grocery store run, print out that paper or start your laundry. Your break is a great time to check off other tasks on your to-do list when you’re in a time crunch or just want to get them.
2.Take care of yourself
You need to take care of your health, it should be your main priority because you only have one body. You can’t do well in school if your body is sufferings. Remember to try to get eight hours of sleep every night because a lack of sleep can affect your focus. Try to exercise on a daily basis to boost your energy and fuel your body with healthy food. Try to avoid any junk food when you are studying, because it will only make you sluggish and can cause a more exaggerated effect on study burn out. Also, make sure that you have a plan to help you with stress management because stress can impact burn out. This can include things like meditating, journaling or just taking a 5-minute “time out”. Don’t be afraid to go to your school counseling service for help!
3.Have a social life
Yes, you can still go out with your friends and do something. Your life does not need to be dedicated to school and isolation makes study burn out worse. You need to be able to try to do at least one social thing a week and if you are an extravert, I encourage even more. It doesn’t have to be an event or something exciting, it can be as simple as watching Netflix with a friend. The best part about having friends is you can even meet them for meals and use each other for support. You can also make a study group if you can all focus on your work.