With half of the semester over and another half ahead, feeling overwhelmed is completely normal and expected. When you work hard at something for a long time, you can’t help but wonder, “Okay so, when am I finally going to achieve this goal?” In terms of academics, this would be “Okay when am I finally going to finish these courses?” The halfway point represents progress, but it seems so unimportant at the time.
This feeling is what’s known as “burnout”. According to the organization Help Guide, “burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.” How does one go about avoiding this?
Set Realistic Goals
Deciding that you want to get an A in the class where your midterm grade was an F might not be the best idea. Shooting for the stars appears to be an amazing mindset but academically, it’s important to think realistically. Knowing what you are capable of and truly trying your best at something is important. The danger of setting unrealistically high goals is an inevitable disappointment, which can lead to a sense of failure.
It’s okay to not be perfect at something. You should read that again. Often, people put immense pressure on themselves, setting them up for disappointment. Trying your best at the end of the day is what truly matters. It may sound corny but knowing that you did all that you could’ve is what counts.
DO: set achievable goals based on performance and skill level so far, do your best, and understand that this isn’t perfection
DON’T: set unattainable goals based on desires, tell yourself anything less than perfection is unacceptable
Be Proactive
This one is for all procrastinators. Justification for waiting until the last minute is often “I work well under pressure” and maybe you can accomplish a task and get an impressive grade with that mindset. However, the truth is that you aren’t working efficiently if you’re stressing yourself out by taking on so much work so close to the deadline.
The biggest tip of advice would be to complete homework as in advance as possible. For example, get your Monday homework that is due Wednesday done on Tuesday. Why should you do this? Because in college, last-minute things often pop up. You just got assigned a major project. But there’s that paper you forgot that’s due this week. Your friends want to go out and you really want to join. If you do things in advance, you have more room in your schedule for these last-minute things.
DO: keep a planner, get things out of the way asap and utilize time to polish work (go to office hours, get a tutor or revise your work)
DON’T: fail to keep a record of when assignments are due, wait until the last minute to start something
Create a Self-Care Routine
Self-Care is essential and non-negotiable. It’s time that you show your mind and body love, and this looks different for many people. In general, what works best for me is relaxation. So, I am more of a stay-in and watch Netflix and paint my nails kind of girl rather than an eat super healthy and go work out at the gym for hours type of girl. Both are great, it’s just a matter of what makes you happy. Is it relaxing activities or energizing ones?
To learn more about my personal guide to Self-Care, click here.
DO: figure out what self-care routine would interest you, schedule specific day(s) of the week for self-care, and understand that you may need more days during a rough week
DON’T: spread yourself too thin by never making time for yourself, do stressful activities or take up time with things that don’t interest you
Balance Work and Personal Time
This one is tough. The question becomes what’s the right balance and is this applicable to everyone or do different people need a different balance of work and personal time. I believe that different people need different amounts of work and personal time because no two people are the same. What one person would see as an easy work week; others would see as way too much. This all comes down to not only what you can only handle, but also what you thrive with.
I would recommend that if your future includes attending a difficult graduate school and/or having a rigorous, time-demanding job, you should probably work up to that amount of work. This will build up your attention span and how much you can accomplish so that you don’t burn out later in your future educational and career path.
DO: find ways to perform satisfactorily in work while making personal time, keep the future in mind regarding how much work you can handle, and how to build your work ethic if needed
DON’T: give little to no personal time for yourself