Every year, without fail, feelings of burn-out plague the student body. The UC quarter system creates such dense academic calendars that the various holidays and breaks throughout the year often feel like they don’t do anything at all for the rest-deprived. And, every year, without fail, these feelings are the strongest for me come spring quarter.
Over the break, I had a chance to briefly meet up with my friends from high school, who all feel the same dread and anxiety about returning back to school after the very generous 7 days we were allotted to unwind. By the end of finals week for winter quarter, many of us had already felt the natural plunge of energy, as if it were a signal for the real closing of the year. This is one of the real challenges of the quarter system when held up in comparison to the semester system; students under the quarter system are required to complete one last sprint before they can reach the finish line for the school year. The mental energy that is involved in absorbing dense material in the duration of 2 and a half months, paired with the immediate shift from cramming for finals to starting a new set of classes (again!) is unmatched. Understandably, burn-out begins to become more prevalent for most towards the start of Spring. So, inspired by my own weariness and the same weariness of those around me, here are 3 ways you can keep your head above the water while finishing off the year strong:
- Practice Self-Compassion
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It can be hard to listen to your body or your mind when you’re feeling weighed down by the tasks you’re trying to cross off your seemingly never-ending to-do list. However, as difficult as it may be, this practice is the most important one in sustaining long-term relief from burn-out. This should look like being mindful about how you’re treating your mind and body (are you carrying tension in your posture? Are you taking short breaks when needed to drink enough water or fuel your body with some food? Is your inner dialogue with yourself a positive one?). Another form of self-compassion that isn’t talked about quite as much is the act of setting boundaries. This can be for yourself, your work or for others. Setting these boundaries can be tough when your mind is either hyper-vigilant about the work that still needs to be done, or the opposite, when it’s begun to reject structure in a last-effort attempt to rest. Still, boundaries are the essential cornerstones to the next item.
- Create Structure
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Any form of structure will do, as it will help you begin to build upwards from there. You can begin by mapping out your week and pulling from your tasks what you can realistically get done for that week. The importance of this lies in the ability to visualize your short-term responsibilities and goals so that you can get things done without your mind jumping too far into the future and being overwhelmed by all the other tasks that eventually need to be completed. Creating some semblance of structure is especially useful in the recent course that zoom fatigue has taken us all on. When you know what you need to do, your mind wanders a little bit less, and in the time that it saves you are able to focus on eating and sleeping regularly. You can even pencil in items that get you excited as a type of reward system for having completed your work. Go on a walk, phone a friend, finish that show you’ve been excited about or catch up on some hobbies you might’ve begun to neglect.
- Refine Your Goals
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Sometimes when we experience burn-out, a sense of tunnel vision can wash over us and blur out the bigger picture of what we are working towards. When you are allotted extra time to sit and think about the goals you are trying to achieve, use it to analyze what you truly want from your present ambitions, actions and ideas. Are you experiencing burn-out because you’re taking on too much and stretching yourself out too thin? Is the degree of your current burn-out experience worth it in the long run? Are you passionate about what you’re working towards? What can you cut out from your routine to make it easier on yourself? This isn’t to say that you should abandon your convictions when it requires hard work; this is a reminder that sometimes we may become passive in our daily lives if we haven’t analyzed the worth of what we’re trying to achieve.
When it comes down to the manageability of your academic and professional workloads, you know yourself best. You’ve made it this far in the school year, and in life, to know what can help you either prevent, or escape, the ruts we all fall into every now and then. Remember to trust your instincts, take care of yourself and focus on your progress instead of just your destination.