Student Blog: Burnout

Simply put, burnout is the worst. Especially at a time when being on top of your tasks is vital. Personally, burnout affects my mood. Even once I've left school or tossed my schoolwork aside for a quick fifteen-minute break I can't help but feel anxious, tired, and drained. I sometimes find that at its worst, my burnout keeps me distant from the things that once brought me joy and comfort because I am unable to enjoy them due to all of the stress and pressure I'm feeling. On top of all this, procrastination becomes my best friend. I hold back on any task, no matter how simple, until I regain enough energy to even think about beginning it. This will usually take a toll on both my mental and physical health, however, I recently found new ways to cope with burnout and facilitate my tasks while dealing with it.

This particular burnout I was experiencing was very different from the burnouts I had experienced in the past. I think that setting aside how tired and overworked I felt in the past few weeks led to this burnout feeling like a lot. Before I knew it, a bunch of deadlines had caught up to me. The biggest tasks I had to tackle were my finals. I had two projects, a paper, and a test, along with another major art project I had to complete.

The first thing I did was create a list with the tasks and their deadline, this allowed me to focus on the most important tasks with the closest upcoming due date. I usually like to space out my work and give each task an equal amount of time to be completed and reviewed, with some wiggle room to add some last-minute changes, however, with such close deadlines I was left to see which needed the most attention at the moment. This was my final research paper, it was basically done and just needed some minor edits, a very simple task. This is actually what made it so difficult to complete because I kept thinking, "well if it's that easy, I can do it later." Once I realized that later would never come I had no choice but to set aside a good amount of time to solely work on this task. So I went to the library, brought some snacks, and hid my phone, depriving myself of any reason to get distracted. I can't say this method is foolproof. Eventually, the snacks ran out and I got distracted online. But with good planning, I had enough time to get preoccupied with other things while also getting the job done.

The second thing I did to cope with my burnout is rewarding myself. My last task of the semester was an art final, a painting. I was too busy juggling my other assignments, I had only a weekend to sketch out the drawing and a single day to paint it. One thing about burnout is that it completely robs you of creativity, so I had absolutely no idea what to draw. The majority of my weekend was spent huddled over a blank piece of paper. On painting day I became quickly irritated as my idea suddenly wasn't going as planned, my back was hurting and I was anxious. These overwhelming feelings were getting me nowhere so I took a small break and treated myself to a hot chocolate, it was a quick and simple fix that made everything a little more bearable. Usually, I think the reward is deserved at the finish line but, I also think it was important that I acknowledged how hard I was working and all of the effort I was putting in, even if it was with something as simple as a comforting cup of hot chocolate.

This brings me to my final tip for dealing with burnout, acknowledging your effort and most importantly... your feelings! Burnout hits me most emotionally. Personally, I always feel the need to keep pushing forward, shrugging off whatever hurdle may come, but sometimes it's just not that easy and that's okay. Being tired, stressed, drained, and even sad during periods of burnout is okay! What helped me the most was realizing that I didn't have to pretend to have everything under control. In fact, sometimes being strong wasn't the solution to my problem, crying was. I will say, after every cry, it's important to get up and keep going. However, there's nothing wrong with acknowledging that you're upset. I shed a few tears, took some deep breaths, and thought things out with a clearer headspace and it was just the thing I needed.

Thankfully, I completed every task and ended the semester on an excellent note. Now all that's left is to relax and enjoy winter break. If you're recovering or even still dealing with burnout, remember that you've got this! You're doing amazing!