If you are a student, you probably experience burnouts quite often. However, most burnouts usually occur mid-semester. That’s the time when the stakes are high, study hours pile up, and your anxiety levels are plummeting.
Burnouts are inevitable, especially in college. So, I’ve gathered my favorite habits that help me cope with moments when I have zero energy but still need to finish my tasks. Some of these are part of my day-to-day routine, and others are reserved solely for times of crisis.
1. Try meditation.
It’s beneficial to let your mind go and unwind for a while during the day. Those quiet five minutes make a huge difference in bringing you release and peace of mind. Staying mindful will prevent severe burnout from occurring. If you have never tried meditating, you can check out this Coursera mindfulness course. Conversely, if you are too exhausted to consume information, just take five minutes to focus on your breath every several hours.
2. Take a day off.
I know how it goes: You have billions of tasks to accomplish, piles of papers to submit, and tons of courses to finish, so you can’t even think of taking time off, let alone a full day. Nonetheless, it’s crucial to renew your energy levels to ensure that you’re doing things in the best way possible. If you are no longer studying efficiently, take a day off with no regrets. Get some sleep, see friends, or go for a walk. You’ll be way more productive the next day.
3. Have everything set and ready to work.
If you prepare your working space before starting, the process will go smoothly, bring you joy, and you’ll be able to focus faster. What might help you achieve this is an app that allows you to plan your work with a to-do list, deadlines, and free PDF tools. You can also use the Pomodoro technique to focus and rest in healthy proportions.
4. Work on your sleep schedule.
This one is crucial. The fear of failing tests keeps many of us awake for hours. However, a good night’s sleep improves our memorization skills and helps us focus. When you can’t afford eight hours of sleep a night, still do your best to go to bed early. Our bodies rely on circadian rhythms, so going to bed at 11 pm and waking up at 5 am is much better than going to bed at 3 am and waking up at 8 am.
5. Watch your procrastination.
All of us procrastinate. However, there are two types of procrastination. One happens when you can’t focus enough, while the other indicates that you’re mentally drained and need to take a break. When the latter one occurs, we tend to gravitate towards activities that don’t require mental energy. So, sometimes it’s wise to thank your procrastination for being a red flag and use our second advice and take a day off.
Overall, it’s crucial to organize your time, energy, and space to ensure that both your work and rest are convenient for you. Every time you plan to sacrifice your sleep or rest hours to work, remind yourself that every hour of rest builds up energy and effectiveness, while every extra hour of work when you are exhausted reduces efficiency. So keep balance in mind.
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Thank you very much for your advice. I now understand that it is very difficult in reality. Before that, I did not realize that I have more mental fatigue and stress than physical ailments. But before that, it seemed to me all the time that it was all a fantasy or a bad day. There may be insufficient interest. But when you go through it yourself – you realize what it is. It was amazing for me that I stopped finding time for those things that previously fascinated me very much. Our life is not only work or study, but all the hobbies that inspired us. Some of your tips really helped me a lot.
Thank you for your advice. I will try to stick to these rules to be more productive. I have very little time as a student, but I need to find time to relax and meditate. I’ve noticed that I have a hard time getting out of bed every day. All days are like one, I need more variety in my life.