How to: Overcome Academic Burnout

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Picture this: it’s the midst of exam season. You find yourself buried under a mountain of textbooks with folders of unfinished assignments. The ticking of the clock only serves to reinforce the fact that your deadlines, which you’ve tried too hard to ignore, are looming right around the corner. D-day is soon, and you just don’t have any more time or energy to use. The pursuit of academic excellence soon begins to feel like an uphill battle, like Sisyphus endlessly pushing a boulder up a mountain, where anything and everything you do feels futile. 

As a student who has weathered the storm of academic pressures, I understand firsthand the toll that burnout can take on our well-being. Especially before exams week, I’ve experienced too many times the negative feedback loop of burnout. I get stressed, then I try to take a break to decompress, but this break only serves to further my stress. Like a pressure cooker, the stress I feel before exams have no way out, and I often feel as if I’m being suffocated by the constant pressure of having to achieve academic excellence. Recognizing the urgency of addressing this burnout, I embarked on a journey to reclaim balance in my academic life. And although I still tend to be pretty stressed at the peak of exam season, the tips and tricks I’ve found have prevented me from the worst of burnout. In this article, we'll delve into practical advice that goes beyond the textbooks, sharing personal tips I’ve found to combat academic burnout by finding an equilibrium between academics and personal life. 

• 1. Prioritize Self-Care

The first step in combating academic burnout is prioritizing self-care. This includes adequate sleep, a balanced diet, and regular exercise. I can’t stress how important this is! If for some reason you can only follow one of the advice I offer, follow this one. Waking up at five in the morning and sleeping at midnight is not worth what you do to your body. Sure, you might earn a few more precious hours of study time, but these hours aren’t worth the debuffed state you’re in. Establishing a consistent routine for self-care can help improve focus, energy levels, and overall well-being. If you find it difficult to sleep or wake up at a reasonable time, I suggest planning out your day, like what time you sleep, wake up, and eat, a few days in advance, then trying to follow your plans to a T.

• 2. Set Realistic Goals

Setting achievable goals is crucial for preventing burnout. Don’t make a poster that says “Full marks on all subjects!!,” but set more reasonable, manageable goals. Having grandiose, larger than life goals can often be discouraging, because of how unrealistic the goals might be. So, break down larger goals into smaller ones, like setting individual score expectations for each subject. By doing so, it helps you become more mindful of your limitations, and to avoid overcommitting. In this, it helps to maintain motivation longterm by giving yourself small victories to move forward.

3. Time Management and Organization

Effective time management is key to reducing stress and preventing burnout. Utilize tools like calendars, planners, or productivity apps to organize tasks and deadlines. I personally use google calendars, and put my deadlines for my assignments on the calendar. By doing so, I can have calendars send me a notification a week prior reminding me when my assignments are due, so I can avoid scrambling the night before to scratch together a paper as best as I can. Also, by knowing beforehand when assignments are due, it can be helpful to allocate dedicated time slots for focused study sessions, therefore avoiding procrastination. Kind of like the last advice on setting manageable goals, it can also be helpful to tackle looming assignments by breaking it into smaller, more manageable sections to take on day by day. 

• 4. Seek Support

Don't hesitate to reach out for support when needed!!! I can’t stress this enough. Always remember that your academic responsibilities come second to your own wellness as a person. Whether it’s talking to friends, family, or seeking guidance from academic counselors, sharing your concerns can provide valuable perspectives or just help you destress. Sometimes, it might even help to talk to your teachers, and a well-written email (or worst case scenario, a teary imploration) might have them extend the assignment due date for you. While I wouldn’t suggest asking for an extension for each and every assignment, or asking for them last minute, I say that, at least for me, having an extension as an option brings a significant peace of mind that helps me work better overall.  

Combating academic burnout requires a holistic approach that prioritizes your well-being over all else. By incorporating practical strategies of time management and consultations into your routine, you can reclaim balance in your academic and personal life. Just remember, taking care of your mental and physical health is not a luxury, but a necessity for long-term success and happiness.