With fully online classes, universities removing or shortening fall break, and endless Canvas assignments, burnout feels less like a possibility and more like an inescapable reality. While this is not a new concept for most students, it seems to be taking a bigger toll this year on mental health. Whether it’s because of limited activities or the general state of the world, this season has college students slammed with burnout, and I am no expectation.
Being at home with no set schedule, it is easier to lose track of time while grinding away at projects. Without build-in-break like walking across campus to my next class or grabbing lunch with friends, I found myself slipping into a bad habit of working for hours straight, not once glancing up from my computer screen. And at the end of the day, the only thing waiting for me was exhaustion and frustration. I knew something had to change.
Through friends and the internet, I heard of the Pomodoro Technique. Basically, you work for 25 minutes, then you take a five-minute break, and repeat. I figured it was worth a shot but quickly realized that it was not the best solution for me. I would spend my sanctioned five-minute break scrolling through my phone past articles and videos about politics and news that only caused more stress. That’s when my friend sent me a video of her dancing in her dorm to The Time Warp from Rocky Horror Picture Show with the caption, “much-needed study break”. And suddenly, I knew what I had to alter with my routine to make taking a break effective for me.
I devised a schedule for the next day, for every thirty minutes of work I completed, I would take a five to ten-minute break where I danced like a complete fool in my room to any song of my choice.
Then, I put it into action. I sat down the next morning and set my timer. After thirty minutes of work, I opened Spotify, prepared to pick the perfect song to dance my stress away. And then I stared at the screen for about ten minutes as my indecisive self struggled to pick a song. Eventually, I chose one, tuned my volume down to ensure my family wouldn’t hear it, and tried my best to silently dance. Despite being completely alone in my room, embarrassment struck. I felt like my arms were made of rubber and my legs of stone. Aside from the fact that my dance break had been the first dancing I had done since the start of quarantine, everything about it felt unnatural. Still, I powered through the song and slumped back in my chair, resetting the timer for another thirty minutes.
The next time the alarm sounded, I was in the middle of writing an essay, deep in the flow of the words. I looked at my phone as it vibrated. Was it worth losing focus? I considered setting another thirty-minute timer and just taking a break after that. But, I had told myself that I would try to stick to the schedule for at least one day. So, I got up and danced. When I sat back at my desk, I had the slightest smile spread across my face. I set another timer and then my hands were back on the keyboard. I wrote as if I hadn’t stepped away from the computer. To my surprise, the words popped into my head with less struggle than before. The dance break hadn’t caused a distraction, it had sharpened my focus.
I went back to my dancing routine the next day. Before starting my work, I made sure to set a cue containing more than enough of my favorite songs, that way, I wouldn’t have to spend so much time mulling over what artist I wanted to listen to or what mood I was in, or what songs I hadn’t listened to in a while. This smoothed out the process and allowed the transitions between work and dance breaks to seem almost nonexistent. And, the more breaks I took, the less embarrassed I became. It started to feel natural and my self-consciousness faded to the back of my mind.
Overall, I found that taking dance breaks is a positive way to stop yourself from being consumed by work. I was able to steal a few minutes of screen-free time while moving my body in a way that didn’t cater to a workout routine. Plus, setting up a cue of songs in the morning was a great way to ease into the workday while also giving me something to look forward to. Whenever my stress levels got high, I was able to remind myself that it wouldn’t be long until I was dancing to one of my favorite songs. And most importantly, it cured my burnout! Now, my busier days don’t end in annoyance. They feel just as good as light workdays.
If you’re looking for a way to break up your day, I would recommend trying the dance break strategy for yourself!