All right, y’all! The crux of the school year is over. It’s summertime and … you’re still feeling the crushing exhaustion of essays, projects and finals … That doesn’t make any sense! It’s summer! Now is not the time to be stressed and tired. Unfortunately, burnout does not disappear on a whim. It must be taken care of intentionally and consistently. I know. It sucks. You’ve got this, though! The road to burnout recovery is easier than you might think.
The most important thing to remember is to be patient and kind with yourself. Mentality is everything and trying to force yourself out of exhaustion will only make it worse. This will be a slow process so make sure to reward yourself for small wins rather than focusing on all you haven’t accomplished yet. There will also be backslides into bad habits. This is perfectly normal. Acknowledge it happening and gently course correct. As long as you take the steps forward, you’ll be able to leave burnout in the dust.
Simply avoiding any kind of work and doomscrolling for hours is unfortunately not the path to burnout recovery. Believe me, I’ve tried. If you can avoid screens over this process, all the better. For nine months out of the year, we are glued to our computers. For these three months without intensive work, disconnecting will help your brain recover from the overload of information. Here is where that intentionality will come into play. You must start doing activities that stimulate your brain without stressing it out. This can take the form of puzzles, creating art by hand, writing, reading or any other analog hobby.
These activities force your brain to make active connections, new pathways through problem- solving. If this is your first time in a while engaging with these kinds of activities, your brain will get tired. It is important you do not give up at this stage. This is simply your brain (re-)learning how to use those muscles without the payoff of the grade. You can try setting a timer to work on these activities and slowly increase the time spent working on it over the weeks. Setting finite goals like this gives your brain the satisfaction of completing tasks. This ensures that you won’t give up immediately. Should you remain consistent in this process, much like working out, you’ll begin to see the results: longer attention spans and better critical thinking.
These active steps won’t just help with burnout, they’ll also help with beginning to prepare for next year. With the consistency you’re building, you’ll remember to include even five minutes of time when you aren’t doing strenuous academic work. Remember your brain is a tool and a muscle. If you’re only focusing on work (academic or otherwise) 24/7, that’s when the burnout and fatigue will begin to hit. Try to take breaks away from your study areas. Stand outside with the sun over you. Lay on some grass. Take five to 10 minutes away from your work to engage in your hobbies. Building these habits over the summer when you have the time ensures that when your brain is exhausted, it’ll be able to go through the motions of everything you’ve set in place. Recovery from burnout is possible! You just need to be patient, consistent and intentional throughout the process. You’ve got this, Highlanders! I’ll see you on the other side of this academic fatigue.
