The end of the semester is approaching and with it comes the stress of final exams and wrapping up big projects. With everything piling up and a limited amount of time to get it all done, it can be easy to get overwhelmed and experience anxiety. This anxiety can manifest itself in the form of academic burnout.
What is academic burnout?
Academic burnout is negative feelings or attitudes towards academics that can result in differing emotional, mental, and physical reactions, such as procrastination, exhaustion, lack of motivation, and irritability.
Academic burnout can affect anyone. Especially college students. Whether you’re piling too much on or you’re a sworn procrastinator, burnout can catch up to you. As a double major myself, I’ve definitely experienced my fair share of academic burnout. However, there’s always a way to get out of that negative slump and get back on track!
Here are ten ways I tackle academic burnout :
- Take a break
Make sure you’re making time for yourself too. It can be easy to fall into the hustle culture of always having something to do and feeling overwhelmed with your college schedule. By setting aside time for yourself you can recharge and be better prepared to get your work done. Whether it’s watching an episode of your favorite TV show, treating yourself to a sweet treat, or planning out time in your day to pause and meditate, taking breaks from the daily stress of life will allow you to be more relaxed and confident in your academic abilities.
- Have an outlet
You might be one of those people who is an academic achiever. Or you’re all about the next project and the next opportunity. While being ambitious is great, it can also sometimes cause you to stretch yourself too thin. If you don’t have an outlet that allows you to forget about your problems, or just be yourself, then finding one can be a great way to reduce the amount of stress you feel towards academics. Whether it’s meeting up with friends to study (and discuss the latest tea) or joining a club sport, having an outlet to release some of that tension that comes with the heavy course load of college, will be beneficial to you in the long run.
- Make a list
Sure, you’ve heard of making a to-do list before but if you’re like me, seeing a long list of everything you need to get done can be a little overwhelming and even discouraging. I prefer making priority lists so that I can focus on what actually needs to get done vs what I have to get done eventually. This is a good way to avoid procrastination too if you find yourself often avoiding starting the big projects or the essay you need to write by tomorrow.
- Find inspiration elsewhere
Let’s face it: College is hard. It can be easy to lose your sense of motivation when everything seems to keep piling up. If you’ve always been a straight-A student and then that changes when you come to college, then you’re already on the burnout train. This is why it’s important to find inspiration elsewhere. Sure, having straight A’s is an accomplishment, but is it motivating enough to get you to do that assignment you’ve been putting off? If so, then great! If not, then finding inspiration elsewhere and being more emotionally motivated can be better. Personally, I look at my visualization board on Pinterest for inspiration towards my academic goals and it helps a lot to remind me why I’m here in the first place.
- Maintain a balance
Juggling work, school, and a social life can be really challenging. It’s important to try and balance all of these aspects of your life so that you won’t feel as if you’re being pulled in many different directions. Scheduling out your time or even planning out your day can help you maintain a balance in your everyday life.
- Get good sleep
It can be hard to get eight hours of sleep. Whether you stayed up late cramming in more study time before a test or rushed to finish an assignment, sometimes the later hours of the day is where we get the most work done. However, not getting enough sleep can make it easier to suffer from burnout. Exhaustion from doing work and physical exhaustion is so not a good mix.
- Confide in friends and family
If you notice that you’re starting to experience symptoms of burnout, talk to a family member or a friend. Anyone you can trust to confide in could help you get back on track. Even just sharing how you’ve been feeling can release the weight off of your shoulders and make you feel more motivated to get work done.
- Join a study group
Joining a study group allows you to get the necessary resources you need in order to succeed. Sharing your struggles with a group of people can help you work together to understand the harder subjects. Calculus anyone?
- Seek out help if you need it
You can do this in different ways. Signing up for a one-on-one tutoring session may be helpful if a big part of your academic burnout is due to a certain class that you’ve been struggling with. Even setting up a meeting with a counselor or your academic advisor can help you speak up about your struggle and discover the best way to combat it moving forward.
- Remember that you got this!
Don’t be so hard on yourself. Everyone has setbacks, and experiencing burnout is common. Knowing the best way that you can deal with it will help you finish the semester off strong and move forward. Good luck!