Throughout the past few weeks I’ve noticed my conversations with other students have taken on a similar script.
We’ll greet one another, ask each other how we’re doing, sigh and joke about how exhausted we are and then go back to our routine. Something about this repeated dialogue was unsettling to me, even more unsettling was how well I accepted my role of “drained student.”
These conversations, while they may seem insignificant, point out a deeper issue that plagues our culture today on our campus and the campus of countless other universities. This issue is academic burnout.
If you’re like a younger version of me, you may think this topic is a bit taboo, this word is just a creative excuse for being lazy and the people that use it are only trying to make excuses for their exhaustion. I now realize that this experience is one of my own, and there is an even bigger issue present – I keep ignoring it.
Throughout my life I have always been known as the overachiever. I participated in every club I could in high school. My interests stretched from showing livestock to performing on stage in theater, and I longed to be great at everything I wanted to do. Constantly pushing myself at academics and extracurriculars, I often joked about needing to be in multiple places at one time.
I carried this same mentality into college, but soon realized it was not sustainable. This semester has been full of lessons like this. Early this school year I made the age-old mistake of overcommitting myself, one that so many of us can fall into.
The reasoning is simple, those of us who feel the need to achieve everything make habits of spreading ourselves thin, and then suffer the consequences at this point in the semester.
Aspiring for perfection often breeds this vicious cycle and in turn we become overwhelmed and completely burnt out in academics.
It is well known that, “a jack of all trades is a master of none” but it is fascinating how I, and so many others, have always tried to prove that saying wrong. I believed that each new commitment I added to my schedule unlocked a new level in my journey to perfection.
But as two years of college have proved, this journey to perfection is not as gratifying as we may have hoped. Often it leads to burning out. This usually presents itself in my life as apathy to my commitments, even those that bring me immense joy.
The tricky thing about burning out is that we cannot stop showing up, especially academically. The truth is, there will always be areas of our life that demand energy from us. While our energy may not always be consistent, those demands are. The solution is not to recognize when we are burnt out and stay there, but to diagnose and treat this stress response.
These college years are incredibly formative and many of the habits students make now will stay with them as they continue to grow. Therefore, it is very important to decide how we will react to this feeling of fatigue now.
In my experience, the worst thing I can do for these feelings is grab my phone, scroll through social media and see how perfect everyone else’s life is.
Another habit to break when confronted with the reality of burn out is to press ahead even when we know that the work we are doing is not our best. This is against what our culture of constant productivity suggests, but it is a fact that rest is immensely important for success.
Outside pressures can make us feel like perfection is what we should strive for, when that is absolutely unattainable. The truth is, all students will most likely experience some form of burnout during their college career.
That means that you are not alone when you struggle with this. Whenever a homework assignment feels daunting and it seems that studying has taken over your life, you’re in good company. During these seasons of being overwhelmed, it is more important than ever to take care of yourself.
My favorite tips for surviving academic burnout are simple! First I would suggest making an effort to spend time outside. Something as simple as taking a walk or studying outside can completely turn your day around.
The next is to limit screentime as much as possible. Sometimes we think that scrolling on TikTok or Instagram is restful, but that is absolutely not true. Forcing your brain to intake even more information when you are already exhausted won’t help, as I’ve learned from experience.
And finally, draw close to your friends and family for support. Although academic stress can feel enormous, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel – and for most of us that light is when the semester ends!