Students are among the most common burnout victims. Many of them are overwhelmed with the amount of schoolwork, not to mention part-time jobs, extracurriculars, and other responsibilities. Some of them get disappointed in their degrees early on in their academic journeys, which also contributes to burnout. But the good news is that burnout is preventable and curable. If you make an effort to learn about burnout, chances are, you’ll manage to avoid it.
What’s burnout
It’s not an easy task to define burnout because people experience it differently. But most definitions mention a sense of overwhelm, extreme exhaustion, and complete loss of interest. Burnout rarely happens overnight—it can be accumulated over months if not years. Because of how gradually its symptoms grow, it may be difficult to recognize the worrying signs timely and address them before things escalate.
The causes of burnout vary. You can read more about them in Anne Helen Petersen’s brilliant book Can’t Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation. It can be a result of overwork, neglected physical health, and lack of rest. Or you can burn out if a huge project you’ve put your heart and soul into has failed. The lack of positive feedback and a sense of direction in work and life also contribute to burnout. You can recognize it by constant exhaustion and the painful feeling of your own ineffectiveness.
Burnout not only feels bad but can also cause serious problems to your health (both physical and mental), academic performance, and personal relationships. It interferes with basically every aspect of your life and ruins even the things that have nothing to do with schoolwork. Luckily, though, it’s possible to prevent burnout or, if it’s too late, to recover from it relatively quickly (with the right attitude).
Top-7 strategies for preventing burnout
It’s possible to prevent burnout as long as you’re able to catch its early signs and change your entire routine. The changes you’ll need to make aren’t that major or hard to implement. Most of them are focused on finding the right balance between work and rest and taking care of your body and mind. Follow these strategies, and you’ll likely never have to experience serious burnout.
#1 Make sure you know what you’re studying for
One of the sure ways to burn out is studying for the sake of studying. This often happens to students who’ve chosen their major based on their parents’ wishes or followed their friends thoughtlessly. To have enough stamina to complete your degree and protect your mental health, you need to understand what the ultimate goal of your studies is.
Take a minute to talk to yourself. Answer such questions as “Why am I doing this?” and “How will this degree help me in my career?” Make sure that your answers are honest and specific. This way, you’ll get a sense of purpose. It’ll re-energize you in the moments when it feels like you’re drowning in schoolwork and losing enthusiasm.
#2 Put your well-being above grades
Your GPA obviously matters. Even more so if you are a scholarship student or go to one of the top colleges where the risk of being expelled is high. Your grades affect your prospects not only while you’re still in college but also after graduation, during the job search. So it’s quite natural that most students stress over them basically non-stop.
But still, never put your grades above everything else. There’s no point in having a perfect GPA unless you feel well enough to reap the rewards. Sure, keep doing your best on assignments. But don’t neglect your well-being, either. If you feel like you’re on the verge of a mental breakdown, it’s okay to postpone studying for a day every once in a while.
#3 Respect your breaks
Ask any mental health professional, and they’ll tell you that breaks are essential for your productivity. Even if it seems like you’ll be able to do more if you study for six hours in a row, that’s just not true. You’ll be exhausted after a couple of hours. And you’ll forget everything you’ve read during the remaining four once you close the book.
So no matter how much studying you have to do, don’t neglect to take a break at least every hour and a half. Ideally, do something active, like walking your dog, completing a short YouTube workout routine, or dancing to a couple of your favorite songs. Meditating is a great option too. But please don’t spend your break scrolling through your social media feed. It’ll do nothing to recharge you.
#4 Take care of your physical health
Your physical health affects your mental well-being. The energy you need for studying comes from calorie intake and rest, while exercise keeps your mood up. So if you don’t eat well, have zero physical activity in your daily routine, and don’t sleep enough, your chances of burning out grow exponentially.
Nutrition-wise, make sure that your protein intake matches your needs. Consider supplements if you have a specific diet (for example, if you’re vegan). As to sports, opt for something you genuinely enjoy; not everyone’s a gym rat. On-campus basketball, jogging around the neighborhood, and morning yoga are all great ways to move your body.
#5 Allow yourself some self-care
It’s not really true that hard work never hurt anyone—it has. And it’ll hurt you too unless you learn to listen to yourself and take a rest when you need it. People are different, and so are the things they enjoy doing to relax and regroup. No matter how self-indulgent yours is, allow yourself to have it every once in a while.
There’s no such thing as excessive self-care (unless you have more than ten products in your skincare routine). Take a bath if it helps you sleep well. Spend your weekend reading a book in your bed. Order your favorite takeout and invite your partner to enjoy it together. Whatever your idea of self-care is, practice it at least once a week.
#6 Don’t neglect your social life
Even the most die-hard introverts need to socialize from time to time. Tons of studies show that people need people. Socializing helps relieve anxiety, lower stress, and improve one’s mood in general. As a student, you hardly think of this at the moment, but it’s also a great anti-dementia strategy.
Obviously, you don’t have to spend every Friday night partying and then have brunch with your friend group on Saturday. But at least a little socializing is vital. Offer your roommate to cook and then have dinner together. Or if you live alone, ask your friend out for drinks. Or simply call your friends back at home. Whatever works for you.
#7 If you feel overwhelmed, consider therapy
Finally, never underestimate the power of therapy. Despite the stigma that sadly still exists around professional psychological help, therapy works. If it doesn’t, it means that you haven’t found your therapist yet. Once you find them, you’ll be amazed at how motivated and driven you’ll feel after just a few sessions.
The only downside of therapy is that it’s often expensive, and not all health insurance plans cover it. But there are free alternatives. Most colleges and universities have mental health counseling centers available to all students free of charge. If you feel like burnout is right around the corner, perhaps, it’s time you pay your college counselor a visit.
How to recognize that you’re on the verge of burnout
- You expect to fail
It’s totally okay to be worried about the outcome of your work, be it grades or knowledge. But it’s a problem if, no matter how hard you studied the night before, you still expect to fail the next day. Watch your anxiety levels. If you notice that they’re going up, it might mean that you’re headed for burnout.
- Your enthusiasm is all gone
Even students who choose their major based on what’s popular in the labor market as opposed to what excites them should be at least somewhat interested in what they’re studying. It’s impossible to be enthusiastic about all of your classes all the time. But once the course that you used to find interesting no longer keeps you engaged, it’s a bad sign.
- You are constantly annoyed at nothing in particular
Constant annoyance is your body and mind’s cry for help. You’ve probably experienced it if you’ve ever felt hangry. Burnout-caused annoyance is similar. Once you start lashing out at your friends and get irritated at your roommate’s tiniest mistakes, it’s time to check in on yourself. Chances are, burnout is coming.
- You don’t trust positive feedback from others
People who lack confidence often struggle with taking compliments. They feel like they don’t deserve the praise, so they think it’s fake. But if you used to welcome positive feedback and no longer do, it’s yet another sign of burnout. Even more so when it’s related to your studies (especially if you’ve actually worked hard on your assignment).
- You can’t relax even when you’re trying to
Do you feel the tension in your muscles even while lying in bed? Or does the fear of failure and other college-related negative thoughts keep you up at night? Both might be the symptoms of fast-approaching burnout. No matter how hard you work, you should always be able to relax. This applies to both your body and mind.
What to do once you realize that you’re headed for burnout (or that you are already there)
Sometimes, all burnout-preventing strategies fail. Or it’s too late to use them. If you recognize yourself in most symptoms of imminent burnout, just changing your routine won’t work. It’s time for urgent intervention. But you’ll still have to change your entire routine later to avoid experiencing burnout again.
Take a break to regroup
The number one thing you have to do once you’ve realized that what’s happening to you is burnout is to take a break. Your health is the top priority; everything else can wait. If you have urgent assignments to complete, it might be a good idea to write your dean a letter and ask for an official extension due to health reasons. Or you can go to the school counselor and explain your case to them. They might be able to grant you an extension and even a couple of days off.
Try to spend this break meaningfully. Sleep well, eat healthily, and avoid thinking of schoolwork. If you live in a big city, a short trip to reconnect with nature is also a good idea. At the very least, consider having a digital detox. Get off social media and limit your overall screen time. The point is to clear your mind and regroup.
Talk to someone (ideally, a professional)
Again, think of visiting a therapist or at least your school counselor. You’ll feel better from simply talking to them. But knowing your story, they may also recommend something that works specifically for you. Perhaps, it’s not even studying that has caused your burnout. Work, family issues, or conflicts with your significant other could’ve led to it just as well.
If you aren’t comfortable talking about your personal issues and mental health with a stranger, even a heart-to-heart with your best friend or partner is a step in the right direction. Once you get your struggles off your chest, it’ll get easier to breathe. Choose the person you confide in wisely, though. They must know you well, be genuinely empathetic, and ideally, have once experienced burnout themselves.
Make the most out of helpful resources
There are tons of literature, online platforms, and mental health apps that can help you deal with burnout. Here are just a few of them:
- Calm. Calm is often branded as a “meditation app,” but it’s actually so much more. It can help with improving sleep quality, maintaining your focus, and dealing with stress and anxiety (among other things). Calm isn’t too expensive ($70 a year), and it has a free trial if you want to know what you’re paying for first.
- Headspace. Now, Headspace is mostly a meditation app. And it’s arguably the best one in the market. Headspace is a particularly great choice for you if anxiety is something you often struggle with. It includes both courses and exercises (in addition to meditation assistance). Headspace isn’t free, either, but at less than $6 a month, it’s quite affordable, even for students.
- Moodfit. Unlike Calm and Headspace, Moodfit is focused on journaling and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based exercises instead of meditation. It does include meditation and breathwork assistance, though. Using Moodfit, you can track your mood and spot worrying signs early on. As a cherry on top, it’s free.
- Talkspace. Talkspace is an alternative to an offline visit to a mental health professional. It’s perfect for people who have no experience with therapy and aren’t comfortable with actually talking to a therapist in person yet. At $69 per week (a lot, but still way, way cheaper than actual therapy), Talkspace subscribers get access to unlimited therapy via text, audio, and video messages with a licensed professional.
- Cronometer. Finally, Chronometer can help you take care of your physical health (which is vital for preventing and addressing burnout). Using the app, you can track your nutrition and physical activity. Burnout often makes people eat more junk food and be less active, which makes them feel even worse. It’s a vicious cycle that Chronometer can help you break.
