How to Avoid Academic Burnout

With school winding down, there is no doubt that you are (even just a little) burnt out from the year. But, while you’re likely counting down the days until summer and caring less about your assignments, school isn’t stopping just yet. It might feel like it’s taken over, but you can postpone the burnout, even for just a few more days or weeks. Here’s how ⬇️

Take a break day

At this point in the year, this probably isn’t a hard thing to do. But, when you’re busy and overloaded, you have to remember to take a break. Set aside time for self care and personal activities so that you can clear your brain and check in with yourself. Resting isn’t unproductive, it’s just keeping you healthy and efficient for when you are back at it.

Set daily goals to accomplish

If you’re trying to complete assignment after assignment in just one or two days, you can begin to feel exhausted and overwhelmed. Instead, every day, come up with a few things that you want to achieve. Complete the high priority tasks but don’t over-worry about the rest. This way, you can feel satisfied with what you did do and not stress about what’s left. This is also a big reason why you might consider using a planner!

Listen to yourself

You know your body better than anyone else, and most of the time, it’s telling you exactly what it needs. If you feel extremely overwhelmed, take a break. And, if you think (or feel) that your physical health is deteriorating because of your workload, put everything down for a little bit. Staying healthy is much more important than getting ahead on assignments or spending your weekend doing homework.

Set boundaries

Just like with your body, you are the only person who knows what works in your schedule and what doesn’t. Don’t take on tasks or projects if you don’t have time, and do only what you can (not what you think you should). It might seem smart to pile on activities to help a college application or two, but if you feel overworked and overwhelmed, the benefits you think you’re getting shrink.

Learn from the past

While it’s clear that the source of your burnout is almost certainly school in general, there’s not much you can do to fully get rid of it. However, there are plently of ways to adjust your schedule and your life to mitigate the effects. How were previous burnouts sparked? From a club, project, or activity? What did you do in response? Did it work? Asking questions like those to yourself can help pinpoint what’s growing your stress, and in return, help bring it back down.

Exhaustion might feel like a norm by the end of the school year, but it doesn’t have to be. Pacing out your workload, knowing what you need, and not worrying as much about the rest can have major benefits to your mental and physical health, and keep you from feeling burnt out in May. And, if you liked this, check out our other posts below or in the Blog page.