BY EMILIE WEINBECK, FEATURES EDITOR
As the end of the semester is rapidly approaching, many students are feeling the effects of a long semester. These feelings are completely normal as the weather gets nicer and our minds wander to the bliss of summer vacation. But, what you do not want to happen is for these feelings to turn into burnout. So, here are some tips for recognizing burnout and what you can do to avoid it.
It can be hard for college students to recognize the signs of burnout since many of the signs are things that college students experience on a regular basis. Anxiety, frequent headaches, lack of sleep or trouble sleeping, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, quickly getting angry and frustration are the most common signs of burnout.
One of the best things you can do for burnout is to remember why you are doing what you are doing. So, for college students, this can be reminding yourself why you picked your major, why you picked this school, or what you want to do once you graduate from college. This way you can have a reminder as to what you are putting the hard work into and hopefully build up your internal motivation.
If you are more of a visual person then being able to visualize your work and progress may be the best way to build up your motivation. Crossing off assignments on your syllabuses can be a great way to see how much you have done so far this semester. Creating daily to-do lists can be a great way to see how much you got done in a day and remind yourself that you are productive no matter what because you got your to-do list done. Do not forget to reward yourself along the way so you can feel good about all the work you are doing.
Spreading out your assignments throughout the week can help to reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and that you have a busy week all the time. This also allows you to see where you have free time during the day so you can take some time for yourself. Spreading out assignments also helps to make sure that you are getting some kind of work done every day without the burden of trying to fit too much into one day.
Taking breaks throughout the day can help you to feel refreshed when you sit back down to get things done and help to mentally reset yourself. It is also important that you take longer breaks on the weekend to focus on fun things to do with your friends or just time for yourself to relax so you can set yourself up for the week ahead. The weekend is also a great time to catch up on sleep if you have been finding it hard to sleep during the week.
Always keep in mind when your next break for the semester is or how long there is until the end of the semester so you know when you can take your mind off school for a while. This can also help to boost your mood by thinking about going home to see your family and friends and being surrounded by the comforts of home.
