It’s that time of the semester again. A couple of weeks have gone by and being back at school isn’t new anymore. The excitement of being able to restart with new classes has faded away until you’re in a rhythm of more and more work. With most things, having too much of it can lead you to be in a rut. This is especially true when you are dealing with a grueling schedule of work at one of the best universities in the nation. Most students here want to do well, but we are still human. Being in a rut is normal and for some of us who are in one right now, it may seem like it will never go away. However, like most things, this will pass. Here are a couple of rut-busting methods that have helped me in the past.
1. Put Your Energy Into New PURSUITs
One of the first things that I’ve started to learn to do in college is not to keep going back to the things that aren’t working out well. Sometimes this means that if one area of your life isn’t feeling right, then giving that part of your life some space is the answer. Other times, this means moving your energy away from certain people or areas to new ones. Ruts can linger because we keep trying to do the same thing and expect different results. I found myself in this kind of cycle a couple of months back and realized that to move forward, I needed to break the pattern. For me, this took the form of giving myself peace by moving on from groups that aren’t matching my energy and returning to activities (or finding new ones!) that naturally refueled my energy. This method of retooling my energy helped me start to get out of my rut because I stopped trying to fit myself into places that didn’t make sense to me.
2. Make Yourself Your First Priority
A rut usually appears when we stop taking care of ourselves and get lost in others’ expectations. This usually comes out when we stray away from why we are doing the classes, clubs, and other commitments in our lives. Another way to get out of a rut is to remind yourself that you should be doing life’s requirements for yourself. It’s your life, not anyone else’s. When I’ve felt myself start to fall into a rut of this form, I find myself making a concrete plan to get myself out of it. This goes beyond step one because that kind of rut is more about “how much attachment are you willing to undertake;” this kind of rut is more about needing to do more self-care. For me, when I realize that I am not taking care of myself, I make a concrete plan to make the funk I’m in feel less endless. These plans usually amount to: 1) let yourself wallow for a bit, 2) do activities that are fun and have low brain energy, and 3) ease back into work. Plans like these remind me that I should be doing my life as a college student for myself and no one else. I find that telling myself to do something to prove to myself that I can do it is an incredible motivator, and perhaps this can help you, too.
3. Listen To An Old Favorite Album
Though the methods above have helped me out recently, sometimes those plans or trying to redirect are too much for the moment. However, I know that I still need to try something to get myself out of a rut. Thus, instead of going to something complicated, I go to something simple. Often, this takes the form of relistening to an old album because it helps me relax by being something I know. Familiarity is something that is universally comforting for many people, and with a music album, it can be put on a loop to help people get out of a rut. Therefore, sometimes I will have the same two albums on repeat for a week. And while it may not make any concrete progress in my rut, it is still a starting point. Like any starting point, it can be built upon, and that is the key to getting out of any rut.
No two ruts are the same. What I have written here as methods to get out of ruts may not be the way you will get out of yours. I have merely given you these plans of action as a means of generating ideas. You are the only person who can get yourself out of your own rut. I just hope that I can help you with that, even to a small degree. This rut or burnout will not last forever. Remember: a rut is simply a feeling, not a permanent state. To move forward from that feeling, what must you do? Keep trying, always.