I am sure we are all somewhat familiar with burnout, but to explain it to those who have not, burnout is a state of complete exhaustion fueled by copious amounts of stress. To me, this sounds like the definition of what it means to be in college. When in an environment that encourages an abundance of stress, burnout can be expected.
I have experienced burnout one too many times and I wanted to share some of my limited wisdom to help others who are feeling the same.
- Understand your limits
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Coming from a highly competitive high school, I have been accustomed to pushing myself beyond my boundaries to study just a little bit more or get just a little bit more homework done. Transferring this mentality to college is not advisable, especially when there is a larger workload. While gently pushing your limits is necessary at times because of impending deadlines, it is not a sustainable way of living. As such, it is important to understand your limits and plan accordingly through time management or get extra assistance from a professor so that you are not overextending yourself at all times.
- Don’t be afraid to take a weekend to yourself
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Growing up, we have all had a picture of what it means to be in college, and I’m sure that to most of us that picture was going out every weekend. Well, let me be the first to tell you that’s not an essential part of college, especially when you are feeling overwhelmed. It is totally okay to take a weekend to relax and focus on reenergizing yourself before heading back to school/work for another week.
- Find comfort material!
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This step changed my life (not to overexaggerate) on how I handle burnout. Find comfort material! My go-to comfort material changes fairly often, but I have a list of TV shows, movies, and books that instantly makes me feel better. The perfect comfort material doesn’t require too much brainpower and usually has a fairly light tone. I am not embarrassed to say that in my recent spell of burnout, I managed to binge-watch all of Big Time Rush. But hey, if it works, it works.
- Find someone to confide in
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This might not be helpful for everyone, but I have found it extremely helpful to have someone to confide in. Usually, my burnout results from tremendous amounts of stress that I don’t know how to properly manage. Sometimes, the best thing to help recover from burnout is to have a friend, parent, or even therapist guide you through that stress and help you tackle what’s bothering you the most so that you can start making progress.
- This Too Shall Pass
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The hardest lesson I have had to learn is something that my dad taught me: This Too Shall Pass. Essentially, what is all of this in the big picture? One test score or paper will not define who you are as a person. This does not mean that you shouldn’t put in the effort to do well, but rather it’s important to understand that you are doing what you can and that your best is good enough.
The unfortunate part is that burnout, in some cases, is unavoidable. What isn’t unavoidable, however, is understanding that you are not going through this alone and that fighting off burnout is something that is entirely possible. I have faith in you and myself. We can do this.
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