One of the downsides to studying too much is also that you may be easily burnt out. Coming from two people who also burn out very easily, here are some tips to help you still be productive!
What are the signs of burn out?
- Chronically Tired. When you find yourself unmotivated to do anything, and constantly sleepy even when you’ve had lots of sleep, that’s probably a good sign that you’re burnt out.
- Loss of appetite. Oftentimes, when someone is burnt out, they don’t want to eat as much because they are so overwhelmed and tired.
- Scrolling! Usually, someone might feel like they are taking a break by scrolling on social media, and that they have a little bit of time to do so before studying again. This usually leads to more procrastination, and your brain never really gets any rest when you are constantly scrolling!
- Anxiety. The majority of people are extremely stressed and feel anxious whenever they are burnt out. They can be very emotional (and easily brought to tears)! If you notice yourself overreacting to small problems, that’s probably a sign you are overwhelmed and burnt out.
- Trouble sleeping. Another sign of burn out is when you have a lot of trouble getting good rest, or that you are sleeping extremely late.
(Ever feel like this hamster?)
How do you recover from a burn out?
- Take (productive) breaks! Never ever try to continue working through a burn out. When you are tired, you are never productive, and you probably and comprehend the majority of the information you are learning. Most likely, you are too distracted and stressed to settle down and do a 1-2 hour study session. Take good, healthy breaks! This means, split your study sessions into smaller sessions (like 30-40 minute ones, try the pomodoro method!) During these breaks, take a power nap (and by power nap, we don’t mean 2-3 hour ones, we mean 20 minute ones, so have some sense of your ability to wake up!), eat some snacks, go outside, or even read a book! DON’T. SCROLL. ON. SOCIAL. MEDIA. Once you go down that rabbit hole, it’s hard to recover.
- Communicate with others! During a burn out, most people like to isolate themselves from others despite the sense of loneliness. Let your teachers know that you are too overwhelmed, and communicate with them to get extensions. Have a sense of priority as to which tasks are more important than others!
- Get a good amount of sleep. This means, that you usually want to get 8-9 hours of sleep each night! So, even if you aren’t done ALL your assignments, sleep latest at 11 pm if you have school next day. But also, don’t sleep too much! 11-12 hours of sleep may be a bit too excessive, and you might end up more tired and unproductive than you were before…
- Remain calm. A common reaction for people who are burnt out is for them to lash out at others and make decisions that they will end up regretting later on. During a burn out, always remember to remain calm, remind yourself that you’ve got this, and continue on.
- Eat enough food and drink enough water. Food and water are the fuel in life! If you don’t eat enough protein, your brain becomes sluggish and tired. So always make sure you’re eating food and snacks, as well as drinking enough water. (A certain individual writing this used to drink 3 espresso shots in the morning and eat nothing for the whole day because she was stressed out during debate tournaments, nononononono, don’t be like her! She almost died on the plane after doing that – or felt like she was dying anyways.) For drinks, we recommend: Water, Green/herbal tea (a warm cup mixed with a tablespoon of milk and some honey is really great!), hot chocolate, honey lemon water (contact Evangeline for the recipe), and matcha! For snacks, we recommend: A croissant sandwich (basically instead of bread, you use a croissant, according to Belle, it’s very fire), vegetables, fruit, protein (tofu, meat), a warm bowl of ramen (instant noodles are fine too, if you really don’t have time. Just make sure you eat please). NEVER SKIP LUNCH AT SCHOOL OH NONONO.