Now that it’s April, I think it’s a pretty good time to bring up the silent shadow monster that slowly starts to take over at this time in the semester – burnout. I, for one, feel this pretty much at the end of every semester. I felt it so bad in my last year of high school that it dragged me to probably the lowest point I’ve ever been to. But I never want to get to that point again, and I don’t want anyone else to either. So, in all my ~infinite wisdom~, here are some tips I’ve found to help deal with the end-of-year exhaustion.
- Start with one doable task: I know all the assignments, tests, quizzes, projects, and twelve-page papers all seem to pile up in the span of one week – not to mention taking care of yourself, both physically and emotionally. When everything you know you have to do starts to grow until you feel like you’re drowning with no way out, just start with one task. Your smallest assignment, washing your face, throwing away empty water bottles that crowd your nightstand – it doesn’t matter. Just do one small, easy-to-accomplish thing, and you might just find it easier to move on to the next thing you need to do. And if not, at least you got one thing done, and that’s enough.
- Sleep if you need it: As the aforementioned academic responsibilities pile up, it’s important to remember that they’re going to be even harder to get done if you’re tired. When you have so, so much to do, everything feels so time sensitive, and you’re going to want to push through and pull all-nighters until everything is done, but I know from my own experience that it just makes getting through the day, and the assignments, that much worse. So, take breaks when you need to. If you need to sleep, then go to sleep, and if you need to eat, shower, or just close your eyes for a few minutes, then do it.
- Go outside: Getting caught up in finals and end-of-year projects makes you forget the simple things in life and can sometimes convert you into a cave-dwelling hobbit trying to get everything done from a dimly lit dorm room. I’ve found that going outside, for a walk or just sitting in the grass for a few minutes can help a lot. Taking in the sunshine and fresh air is sometimes enough to get me moving on to the next thing, and if you’re in the Florida heat like I am, sitting outside will make you sweat enough to at least motivate you to shower.
- Cry: Yeah, cry. When work, school, and everything else is just too much and you’re so frustrated you want to scream and cry and punch your pillow until it’s nothing but feathers and fluff, then do just that. There have been plenty of times when I just tried to work through everything I was feeling, and I literally couldn’t make my brain work or get anything done the way I wanted to. But, when I let myself cry, scream, or feel whatever else I feel at that point, it’s a lot easier to start what needs to get done next, although I still tend to grumble my way through it.
You may have heard all of these before, and maybe you’ve tried and they didn’t help you, and I know a lot of the time just “doing” something isn’t as simple as it sounds. I know firsthand what that’s like. But, no matter how this finals season goes for you, what matters is trying your best; whatever the outcome is, no one can take your efforts away from you.