It’s time to be honest: for the last few weeks, I’ve been in a really bad place emotionally. Between keeping up with school, working, and trying to balance my friendships and my alone time through it all – I’ve been stressed to the point of burning out.
The thing about burning out in the middle of the semester is that midterms eventually catch up to you. Even as I write this, I have a project that I haven’t started yet, and two papers that I haven’t finished. Yet, all I can do is sit and relax. It would be easy for me to make jokes about how I procrastinate doing really important work, but sometimes you just have to slow down, sacrifice some things, and take care of yourself.
The following are a few tips on handling mid-semester burnout while still remembering to take care of yourself above all else – we get so used to prioritizing school and our career aspirations that we forget to be people, and I’ve had enough of that.
- Don’t overplan
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One of my Sunday rituals is to plan out all of the work I have during the following week, and set up time to do each of those assignments. However, this semester, I’ve seen an increase in the amount of work I’ve been assigned. I’ve been overplanning in order to fit everything into the workweek, and it hasn’t been successful. When you overplan, you lose out on enjoying your life.
- Listen to your body
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Last week, I got home from a nine-hour shift with a plan to do some extra assignments for a few hours. I’ve been sick all week and could tell that I’ve been slacking. But my body had other plans – I got home, got right into bed, and went to sleep early. Listening to your body is one of the most vital pieces of advice anyone can give. If nothing else, plan out time to take care of yourself.
- Chill out
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The work will get done. You will finish that application, you will turn in that paper on time, you will get things done. Don’t sacrifice your happiness or your health in order to get more work done. At the end of the day, you have to decide what’s more important – your health or your work ethic.
We are almost to the holidays, then to a month off from school. Be efficient, but don’t let your body down. Take care of yourself and enjoy your life. You only get one.