It happens suddenly. You’re slogging along, pushing through a to-do list that’s miles long, when your brain unexpectedly gives up. You can’t bring yourself to do another thing. Looking at your agenda makes you want to cry. Trying to read a textbook or write a discussion post becomes impossible. You’re burnt out.
With today’s overworked, overstressed students and our have-to-do-it-all mentalities, mental burnout is an unfortunately common problem that often comes at the worst times. The work continues to pile up, but you can barely bring yourself to touch it, which only causes more stress as deadlines approach and projects continue to be half-finished. It’s a nasty, self-defeating cycle, but it won’t last forever. Check out these tips for the next time you feel like your brain has checked out and flown to Aruba without you.
Take a Break.
Put down your pen. Close your textbook and your computer. Go for a walk, chat with a friend, take a nap. Whatever you do, don’t think about your work for a little bit, and don’t shame yourself for not working. Feeling guilty will only add to the stress, which will make things worse. When you’re feeling burnt out, the best thing to do is to just stop for a little bit. Let yourself relax, and you’ll feel much less overwhelmed when you’re ready to start working again.
Make a schedule.
Write down the deadlines for everything you have to do, and then break each project down into smaller, more manageable pieces with their own deadlines. For example, if your five-page paper is due in four days, make the first page and a half “due” tonight. Worrying about smaller chunks of work instead of an entire project is way less overwhelming, and can help you feel more capable of tackling them.
Go Home.
There’s nothing that helps me recharge like visiting my family. The familiarity of my house and the comfort of having my parents close works wonders in reminding me that I’m an actual human being, not just a textbook-reading, information-spouting robot. If you have the ability to go home, take a weekend and do it. Let your family take care of you a little bit, be it through a home cooked meal or having someone else do your laundry or just through some good, old-fashioned parental pep talking. Remember that there really is a world beyond your desk, and you’re going to be just fine.
Focus on a Different Project.
Oftentimes when I’m feeling completely unable to do schoolwork, I find myself with a surge of inspiration to write poetry or bake something new. If this happens to you, roll with it. Shifting your creative focus to something else—even if it’s something that doesn’t do you any good in the classroom—can be a great way to push through mental burnout. Because there’s no pressure to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies like there is to read three chapters, you can enjoy the process of working on something without feeling overwhelmed. Then when you’re ready, you can carry that productive momentum back into your schoolwork.
Remember Why You're Doing This.
It’s easy to lose the big picture in an endless stream of assignments and projects and books. When this happens, you’re more likely to feel burnt out because you can’t even remember what the point is. Why am I doing this? What’s it even worth? If this happens, take a step back and reevaluate. Look at your short-term and long-term goals, and how the work you’re doing now plays into those goals. You’re not reading books, writing papers, and doing practice exercises for the fun of it. You’re working to achieve the things you want in life. Get excited about your goals again, and you might find that it’s suddenly easier to do what needs done.
With work comes stress, and with stress comes the inevitable threat of burnout. It happens to all of us, but the important thing to remember is that you will get through it.
