After a year of being in college and dealing with a pandemic, there’s time where it’s just exhausting. Juggling anxiety, infection rates rising, breaks being taken away, and no in person socialization can become too much too quick. With all on our plate,we are prone to experiencing burnout. Burnout “describes a severe stress condition that leads to severe physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. Much worse than ordinary fatigue, burnout makes it challenging for people to cope with stress and handle day-to-day responsibilities.” Although burnout may seem like the mountain you may never climb and finishing this semester may seem like a task you can never check off your list,there are several ways you can counteract burnout, start feeling like yourself again and feeling like you can finish this semester.
- Sleep!
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When we stay up all night completing assignments or worrying about assignments, our ability to combat burnout becomes low. Tasks you could knock out easily in a day become this haunting task because you have little to no energy. Although getting 8 hours of sleep may seem almost impossible between midterms and finals, papers, homework; one way to lessen the blow of burnout is to catch up on sleep whenever possible. Naps are a person’s best friend, even if it’s a 15 minute nap in between classes.
- Make a To-Do List then Prioritize
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With a semester with no real breaks, schoolwork can just seem like it just piles on.A way you can feel like you have some sense of control over all your work is to make a to-do list of everything you want to get done for the day and then prioritize the tasks. When you do this, you prevent the overwhelming feeling you get when looking at the upcoming tasks for the month.
- Self-Care
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When we’re so wrapped up in completing assignments on time, we forget to take time for ourselves. We forget to do other things than academics. When you take time for self-care, it helps us distress and then come back to homework and studying with a better mindset. Self-care can be anything from listening to music, going for a walk, face masks, or even performing a concert in the shower.
- Remember the Meaning
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A symptom of burnout is feeling negativity toward your work, whether it’s homework or work work. Since your homework load may be the cause of your exhaustion, it may be easy to start to feel resentment. One way to lessen this feeling is to remind yourself why you’re doing this. Maybe you want to be a teacher to influence the next generation or you want to become a doctor to change the unfair healthcare system. Regardless of your reasons, remembering your meaning will help you reset with how you feel about your homework and hopefully give you a new set of purpose.
- Get Help
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It’s not a secret that going to college during a pandemic is difficult and tiresome. Asking for help isn’t something you should be scared of. If you are struggling to stay on course, reach out to your professor and ask for help, ask for an extension. I know it may seem scary to open up to a professor you may only know through a computer screen or an email. Most colleges also have counseling services available, which allows you to reach out and talk to someone without judgment and getting some advice.