Dealing with Burnout + Ways to Stay Proactive!

Juggling extracurricular activities and studying can be a really hard aspect of college. This struggle is especially exacerbated during final exam season, when it feels like there’s always more to be studying. During times like these, it’s easy to fall victim to burnout.

What is burnout?

One may experience burnout when they’re undergoing a period of prolonged mental, emotional, and physical stress. It may cause you to feel emotionally drained, overwhelmed, and decrease your overall productivity.

Here are a few ways to prevent yourself from experiencing this common phenomenon.

1. Stay active! It’s easy to sit for hours at a desk when you have many exams to study for. However, studies have shown that getting up and moving your body, especially outside, can help boost productivity. Furthermore, it serves as a great break for your mind, which will allow you to return to your studies in a more rejuvenated state. 
2. Take breaks! Studying for extended periods of time without breaks can be extremely detrimental as you may begin to get tired and frustrated. To combat this effect of burnout, take scheduled breaks throughout your studying. A highly effective method to do this is the Pomodoro technique, a strategy that encourages 90 minute study sessions followed by a 20 minute break. 
3. Have a support system. It can be very beneficial to have a group of family and friends that you can vent to. When you are under duress, having a support system is a great way to blow off some steam and get things off your chest. 
4. Get adequate sleep. A major contributor to burnout is working to the point of extreme exhaustion. Getting at least 6-8 hours of sleep a night will ensure your body is well-rested and ready to take on the assignments and exams that come with finals week.

Using these strategies in conjunction will allow you to prevent burnout during final exam season, and will help ensure you feel and perform to your most optimal abilities.

Studying During Break: 

As the Holiday season gets closer and closer, excitement builds and the environment becomes more cheerful and festive. Long awaited Holiday breaks are crucial to give pre-med students the interval they need from the rigorous academic year. However, it can be challenging during break to stay focused, maintain motivation, and find a good balance between getting the rest/relaxation you rightfully deserve and preparing for exams coming up after break ends. 

Nonetheless, we have a few tips that can help you minimize this challenge:

1. A great way to stay on top, especially if you have other commitments, is to create daily schedules and reserve specific times to study each day. This will help you stay organized and keep you from struggling to get things done in a timely fashion. 
2. It is best to space out your studying (ideally an hour a day) rather than studying for many hours in a day in order to prevent major stress and burn out. 
3. Another technique is to connect with a study partner. If you know some peers who are in your classes, reaching out to them and testing each other’s understanding is an excellent way to pool knowledge and avoid possible feelings of isolation. You can even have friends and family help you study! 
4. Also, be sure to keep moving rather than sticking to only one study spot. Diversifying your study habitat if possible can prevent feeling trapped with your work. 
5. Finally, be sure to never neglect self-care! As mentioned earlier, breaks are a crucial time to recharge, so it is more than okay to put the books down for a bit when needed. 

Overall, studying during breaks is a fantastic way to stay ahead and to prevent burn out when returning back to classes, as long as you stay organized and study smart. Good luck! 

Registration

Being prepared for registration is important for getting your perfect schedule. There are many helpful resources and tips that you can use to help make sure you get the classes you want.

1. If you are having trouble starting to build your schedule or have any questions about it, the best thing to do is to schedule an appointment with an advisor. They can help you find classes that you are interested in while also working towards your major requirements or make sure that you are actually able to register for every class in the schedule you have. To make an appointment with an advisor, you can visit this link.

2. Using the LSA course guide is a great place to start. It allows you to see what requirements classes fill, which will help you make sure the classes you are taking are going towards your major requirements. In addition, the LSA course guide is useful for seeing prerequisites and if any seats are reserved for classes that you are interested in. 

3. Another great tool is Atlas. It allows you to do many of the same things as the LSA course guide, as well as actually being able to build a schedule directly on the website. 

4. You can also drop in for advising hours at the Pre Med Hub. We are happy to help with any questions or concerns you may have!

5. It is important to check your “audit checklist” to see what requirements you have finished and what you still have to complete for your degree. You want to make sure that the classes you are taking are going towards some requirement and if possible take classes that count for two requirements (an example is Anthro 101 counting for both social science and race and ethnicity requirements).

6. Remember that sometimes classes fill up before you even have a chance to register, so always have backup classes that you would be happy to take.

Hopefully following these tips is the first step to you having a great semester!