Six Ways to Beat Burnout

By: Antonia Le ‘22

As college students, it’s inevitable for us to experience burnout. Whether you’ve committed to too many clubs to this semester or your professors have decided that it makes sense for there to be multiple “midterms” for one class (or both), you’re going to hit your breaking point eventually. Though the grind never stops, there are some ways that you can find a way to slow down and take care of yourself. 

1. Stop expecting perfection from yourself 

As a perfectionist, I once had an overwhelming need to make every assignment flawless and obtain straight A’s. Sure, that’s a good goal, but for some people, it’s unrealistic and damaging. In pursuit of perfection, I found myself staying up until the early morning hours, stretching myself too thin and preventing myself from getting the sleep I desperately needed to maintain my sanity.

Things only got better when I started accepting that I wasn’t going to make straight A’s every semester or turn in a perfect paper every time one is assigned. It’s not as if I started blowing my studies or turning in mediocre work; I would never recommend that. Instead, I realized that giving one hundred percent for every significant thing was leaving me at zero percent energy and motivation at the end of every day. I told myself that I could get by on putting in a little bit less effort on things that didn’t really require perfection. By accepting that I didn’t have to be the perfect student in an easier class, I could devote myself to the classes that were harder and that needed my attention more.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting good grades, but not at the cost of your mental health. Often, there is a way to pass your classes without killing yourself in the process. If you want to beat burnout, it’s best to find a balance between how much you’re willing to make mistakes and what kind of grades you want to get.

2. Feel free to quit

USC is the kind of campus where everybody you see is hustling; I have friends who are balancing classes with internships, part-time jobs, and/or several time-consuming clubs. With so much pressure to be doing something all the time, it’s difficult to find time to breathe.

Despite everyone moving quickly around me, I’ve found that what makes me happier and more balanced is cutting back on my involvement. Don’t get me wrong—I still find ways to become involved on campus. However, I make an effort to remind myself that it’s not wrong that I’m not as involved as everyone else, and it’s perfectly valid to drop out of a club if I feel like my time could be better spent taking care of my own mental health or making sure that my schoolwork doesn’t pile up.

Stop dividing yourself between so many commitments. Don’t force yourself to do too many things at once. Instead, it’s important to step back and examine which commitments you really need in your life and which ones that you would be happier without. 

3. Try to cure yourself of your imposter syndrome

This is similar to step 2, but I felt that it needed its own section because it’s something that everyone feels.

Sometimes, burnout isn’t the disease, but the symptom. I know that I often overexert myself because I feel like I’m not in the place academic- and career-wise that I need to be, and I need to catch up with the people around me because they are all so much more successful than me. It’s often easy to forget that everyone has imposter syndrome, and no one has their life as together as it usually seems.

Try to remind yourself that life is not a race, and you shouldn’t be overexerting yourself in order to catch up with your peers. Instead, your life is your own journey, and you should be moving through it in a way that makes you happy and doesn’t destroy you. 

Burnout is often caused by working too hard, and it’s often necessary to take a step back and reassess why you’re working so hard. Ask yourself whether this is something you really want to be doing. Remind yourself that your chapter one might be someone’s chapter thirty, and it’s useless to compare. Instead, focus on yourself and your own wellness before concentrating on anybody else. 

4. Break tasks down

Often times, when I write my to-do list, I find myself writing things like “Study for final” or “Work on the essay”. However, these big, broad tasks often look intimidating on paper and thus can seem impossible to do.  What works for me when I feel stressed and overwhelmed is to break these tasks down. For example, instead of “work on the essay,” I’ll break it down to “gather sources,” “annotate sources,” “find quotes from sources,” “write first 3 pages of the rough draft,” “write last 3 pages of the rough draft,” “revise,” and “edit.”

Breaking down a big assignment helps it look less daunting, and it’s easier for me to start it as a result. Moreover, crossing off each individual task will give me a nice feeling of accomplishment that is enough to send me into doing the next task without feeling overwhelmed or exhausted. Ultimately, this helps me feel less stressed or burnt out. 

5. Try a little productive procrastination

Often times, I’m so burnt out and exhausted that I forget to take care of myself, and I still force myself to do schoolwork. However, that’s not the right way to live. Taking a break from studying and working is necessary, but there’s so much pressure to be productive all the time that it often doesn’t happen.

This is why I suggest reframing what you consider to be “productive.” If you can’t bring yourself to take real breaks, force yourself to take procrastinate productively. Tell yourself that you’re going to stop studying for twenty minutes to do your dishes, fold some laundry, or clean your room. It will allow you to step away from your work momentarily without feeling like you’re wasting time by playing on your phone or watching Netflix. 

Moreover, doing any sort of housekeeping task will give you a sense of accomplishment that you will want to keep feeling. You’ll find yourself genuinely wanting to be more productive (both in terms of studying and in terms of self-care) instead of dreading it, and that will keep burnout at bay and help you power through the rest of your day. Ultimately, you’ll find yourself satisfied with your productivity instead of feeling absolutely exhausted. 

6. Take breaks

This is the kind of advice that’s on every study or mental health tip list. Everyone’s heard it before. But, this wouldn’t be common if it wasn’t important. Burnout is caused by overexerting yourself over a long period of time, and the only way to truly stop burnout from worsening is to step back and take some time for yourself. Even if you have a lot of work ahead of you to do, there’s nothing wrong with sitting back and watching your favorite movie or playing your favorite video game for a while or taking a well-deserved nap. It’s good for your mental health.

Think of it this way: you’re not gonna get any good work done if your brain isn’t at one hundred percent power, and it’s not gonna be at full power if you’re working all the time. You need to allow yourself time to reset and recharge, even if it means losing a few hours of studying. You’ll work better for two hours on full power than three hours on ten percent power. 

Taking breaks helps you become more productive, get your done work faster, and relieve whatever’s causing your stress sooner. Don’t be afraid of taking breaks. Instead, make sure they’re into your study schedule, and cut yourself a little slack.

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I know that this advice won’t work for everyone, but I hope that you find something that works for you. Finals season is tough for everyone, so good luck and remember to take care of yourself! 

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