As a third-year university student, I’ve dealt with my fair share of academic burnout. With the amount of assignments and weekly reading to keep up with it can be so easy to let the tasks pile up until it looms over you. Everything suddenly becomes incredibly daunting, and you don’t know how to get back up on your feet again. So I’m here to help you out of that mental block and get back on track. Here’s how I cope with burnout.
Facing up to burnout
The first step I’ve found most helpful for coping with burnout is to remind myself of why I’m here. I ask myself why I applied to university in the first place, and how being on my course is going to help me further down the line. Putting things into perspective like this is a good way to reframe your thinking — rather than focusing on your perceived negatives of the here and now, think about the bigger picture. What made you pick your university over all the others? What drove you to choose this degree? How does graduating put you one step closer to achieving your dream?
I chose my degree because it’s a subject that I have a genuine passion for. I enjoy what I learn, and for me that’s what university is all about. Admittedly I only chose my university as it was the closest one to home, but this might be your driving force for why you’re on your own academic path. Once I finally graduate it opens a lot of options of professional doors for me and I’ll be one step closer to getting into the career that I want to.
Beating the burnout before it starts
Now I’ve reminded myself of the why, it’s much simpler to understand the how. Burnout happens because we push ourselves too much. The sad reality is that the harder your degree subject is, the more work and stress it will bring you. So my next step for coping with burnout is to take a moment to sit down and reflect. How did I get to this point? What has been causing me the most stress recently? How can I best help myself?
Letting myself burn out is not going to help me long-term, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. If you’re like me and have to work part-time alongside your degree then you’ll know it only makes things 10x more stressful. We have the same amount of university work to do, but less time to do it. I’ve spent many an evening rushing home from work to finish writing up notes for a class I have the next day — it can really exhaust you.
Burnout coping methods
But I need to help myself if I want to get to the finishing line. I’ll use my most recent burnout as an example here. A few weeks ago I burnt out because I had a large assignment due and I was worried I wouldn’t have enough time to complete it. My slim submission timeframe paired with a busy work schedule caused me to stress so much that I almost gave up. However, after a few days of wallowing I was determined not to let burnout beat me yet again. I got up, and reframed my thinking and reminded myself of why I’m here. It gave me the boost I needed to finish the assignment on time (which wasn’t an easy feat!). After this I reflected on what I needed help with the most at the moment.
The worst thing I struggle with is time management, which is why I frequently burn out. I take on too many things to do or am unaware of how long I have to complete tasks by and it stresses me out. So I bought myself a diary to keep all of my to-dos and important dates/reminders in to help keep me in check. So far so good, I haven’t been worried for time yet. Laying my days out on a page helps me block free chunks much better.
Doing this also helped me realise that I need to let myself have free time just for relaxing. With a dissertation to write, several assignments set each month, work 2-3 days a week, plus all my other extracurricular activities, I never really let myself sit down and chill out. Now that I can see what my week will be like in advance, I can allow myself time to rest without worrying that I don’t have time for it. Therefore I stop burnout well before it even happens.
You will cope with the burnout
Each person is different, and the ways in which we cope with burnout will differ. It might be because of your degree subject or how much time you have spare each week. Some people find taking a break the best way to cope. If you’re able to do this then this should be the first step you take to cope with burnout. Walking away and giving yourself a minute to rest will give you a clearer mind on how to deal with things.
But reframing and reminding yourself of your ‘why’ is so important. If you don’t have one, then what is it all for? Why stress yourself out so much for something that you’re unsure of? There is always something that has put you on your path, so find it. Furthermore, after understanding why you’re on the path you’re on, it makes the way forward seem easier to achieve. Working out what will help you best in terms of coping with burnout means it won’t happen again.
I hope this post has been helpful for those struggling with burnout and looking for tips on coping with it. Here’s a guide for things you can try if you’re struggling to cope with burnout, as this gives some good ideas of ways to best help yourself. I also wrote a piece on my personal blog about creative burnout, which is also worth a read. Hang in there, we will all get to graduation day one way or another. As long as you do your best, because that’s all you can do.
