Tips on how to avoid mid-semester burnout
By Jenavie Jimenez
Arts Editor
As we wrap up midterms, I know I am not the only one looking forward to that month long break. Papers, projects, and exams take up a lot of time if you want to do well.
As we all know, spending more time doing schoolwork means sacrificing time to hang out with friends, enjoy our favorite hobbies, and maybe even delay our weekends at home. This can easily lead to stress, and the feeling that you won’t make it through this week, or next.
There is a term for this, called burnout. It describes the feeling one may get after doing too much in a short period of time. In our case, a ton of schoolwork in a week or two.
Although it seems impossible, avoiding burnout is actually easier than you think. It involves doing things for yourself, even though you feel like you have too much going on. Here are some tips to consider when reaching the point of burnout.
One huge part of avoiding burnout is time management.
Get a planner, and write out all of your assignments week by week. If you’re like me, it will be color coded with sticky notes everywhere. Set aside time for each assignment to assure that you give it the best you’ve got.
Think about spending some time at the library every week. It may seem like punishment, but if you grab a pumpkin spiced latte to bring with you, I promise it’s a lot less painful.
Another tip to avoiding the urge to drop out and join the circus is setting aside time for yourself. Whether it’s to nap for an hour a day or go to the gym, making time for yourself is a great way to avoid the stress that comes along with being a college student.
I personally like to set aside an hour or two every week to go and get a manicure. It doesn’t seem like much, but pampering yourself for one hour makes a huge difference when you’re looking at your Big Apple Red nails typing on your MacBook instead of no nail polish at all. Maybe that’s just me.
Working out is a great way to avoid stress before it comes, but also an ideal way to get rid of it. Exercising releases endorphins, which is considered a “happy chemical.”
Have you ever noticed yourself feeling a lot happier after leaving the gym? It also releases aggression and any built up anger, while burning calories and getting your body into great shape. You’d be killing two birds with one stone, if you ask me.
My favorite way to avoid burnout is to take the two hour drive back home. Even if it’s just for the night, kicking back with my dog Brady or hanging out with all of my cousins is like a mini vacation from school, minus the palm trees I’d love to see.
At some point in the semester, we all reach a point of burnout or something close to it. Balancing your time between school and time for yourself is the best formula to avoiding this feeling and enjoying a successful semester.
Jenavie Jimenez is the Arts Editor of The Comment.
