Five Ways to Beat Burnout
There’s a lot of space between the novelty of a new semester, Spring Break, and the end of the term. When you’re surrounded by midterms and due dates, it’s easy to feel the burden of burnout. But as you’ll see, the good news is you’re far from alone and there’s plenty of room to celebrate the little things. Let’s break down five proven methods to beat burnout.
Study in Groups
They say that misery loves company. And while studying shouldn’t directly equate to misery, that axiom still applies: there’s a camaraderie in working together toward a shared goal, plus built-in ways to scratch the itches you may have for social connection, quick/fun study breaks, and the accountability to get started in the first place. Focused study doesn’t need solemn silence or require you to obliterate distractions. Find some like-minded people studying the same topics and make studying a social affair.
Give Yourself Rewards
Phone apps may be the most destructive force in your study regimen, but the way they go about capturing your attention is actually worth studying itself. They’ve hacked the human brain to do things that are bad for us by training us to expect small rewards–every time we open the app we see a notification about something new, so we dutifully return frequently for that dopamine hit even if the notifications aren’t that compelling.
So let’s use that power for something that’s actually good for you. Reward yourself with a stop at your favorite coffee or snack shop on your way home from every productive study session. Plan to get work done in the hour before your favorite workout or activity so that you associate those endorphins with having successfully studied, too. Build rewards into your regimen and you’ll find that you start to look forward to study sessions as much as you once dreaded them.
Cross-Train Your Brain
They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So if you’re seeing burnout or exhaustion as the common result of your academic routine, find ways to switch it up. And this can take a few forms: one is to change up the way you study the same topic, perhaps by writing a cheatsheet or flashcards some days instead of reviewing highlighted text, or preparing a mock presentation on a topic–with memes and gifs just because–just to force yourself to think about a serious topic in a fun or different way while still cementing your knowledge.
Another is to just take a class or watch video lessons on something completely unrelated to your semester’s schedule. Remind yourself that learning–something artistic, something physical, something frivolous–can be fun and rewarding for its own sake, not just for the pursuit of grades and degrees. And much like fitness exercise, getting your brain’s muscles to work in a different way actually does help to stimulate connections that were getting stale from lack of use (or overuse in a different capacity), keeping that muscle fresh for when you need it.
Prioritize Health
It’s easy to get tunnel vision on a handful of must-do things, and in doing so minimize focus and priority on everything else. But the brain is a muscle, and muscles need nutrition, rest, and a healthy overall ecosystem in order to perform at their peak. Your DNA evolved for tens of thousands of years to thrive on fresh air, Vitamin D from sunlight, and lots of physical activity…and in just the last few generations we’ve seen a new emphasis on intellectual, sedentary work. So make sure you give your body what it craves: take breaks to exercise or at least catch some fresh air and sunshine. Force yourself to get a good night’s sleep while you allow your subconscious mind to process your last monster study session. And mix some water and vegetables into the classic study mix of coffee and ramen.
Set and Celebrate Small Goals
In the middle of a long semester, everything can feel like a long slog: when every completed exam is followed shortly by another one, and there are no major milestones in sight, days can feel monotonous and repetitive. So steal a tactic from the marketing team at Hallmark: find a way to make an upcoming date special, even if it’s totally out of the blue. Sure, finishing Thursday’s midterm isn’t that freeing with a paper due the following Monday, but circle some milestones on your syllabus and celebrate that you’re knocking off small achievements en route to your larger goal.
