As excited as students can be for the new school year, it’s essential they don’t dive in head-first to prevent the impending burnout.
During May, all college students want to do is leave for the summer. However, as the three months quickly pass —or slowly for others—we feel a simmer of excitement hit as the school year approaches.
There is the excitement of potentially having a new living space, seeing friends from out of state, new classes, and returning to their college routine. It’s surprising how different the attitudes about returning to school can be between high and college students.
While the start of a new semester is exciting, it is also a big transition. New routines are made and new faces are seen. Rushing into classes and a more active social life is one of the biggest causes of fall semester burnout. The transition needs to be smooth and relaxed to have good motivation for the entire semester.
What is burnout?
We all experience burnout. Sometimes it can be described as “crashing out” or simply having enough. WebMD describes burnout as something that happens when we forget to relax.
Sometimes, we get too busy and forget to take a step back and rest. That’s when burnout can occur. Burnout is a form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling swamped. It happens when we experience too much emotional, physical, and mental fatigue for too long. In many cases, burnout is related to one’s job. But burnout can also happen in other areas of your life and affect your health.
WebMD
For college students, burnout typically hits during exam seasons. It could be finals or midterms. During these exam seasons, students study, study, and study. Working so hard for a continuous amount of time burns students out.
How can we experience burnout in our everyday life? Why do students get burnt out when it’s not exam season? There can be many answers to this question.
Sometimes, it’s the repetitiveness of the same routine or the lack of one. Sometimes, our brains decide we have had enough and force us to take a break.
Burnout happens to everyone for different reasons. With a new semester starting, it’s crucial to keep your mental health in mind. Ironically, they are two parts of the same system. But with the excitement of new things, it can be easy to forget.
Expectations vs. reality
We all have our own ideas and thoughts about how the fall semester should go. However, nine times out of ten, these things don’t follow through. But that’s okay! Nobody can tell the future, but expectations are something we all set to keep ourselves calm.
It’s important not to stress what is “supposed” to happen. Embrace what is happening. I like to remember that everything happens for a reason. As college students, a lot is out of our control, so we want to control what we can.
Overall don’t be upset if your expectations aren’t met this semester. A lot of expectations can be outdated or just not tailored to you.
Here are a few potential expectations students may have and what the reality might be to beat burnout!
Dominating the social scene vs taking time for yourself
Everyone encourages students to leave their dorms When the semester starts. There are involvement fairs, greek life recruitment, and other campus events. Socializing with other students can take your mind off the big transition happening. It is always great to get out there and meet new people.
However, you must remember the most important person during this transition: you. Your mental health and social battery come first. If you had a long day of classes and don’t think you can make it to that event you planned on going to, no worries! Many campus events can feel mandatory due to everyone going, but they aren’t.
Sometimes, as a student, you won’t feel like going out. Take advantage of the things you don’t have to do. It’s a bit of a pick-and-choose your battles moment. You aren’t a bum or a lazy student because you want time to yourself.
Having a burnt-out social battery leads to a short temper, which can lead to even more burnout. Help your future self out and have a self-care night, watch your favorite movie, or search your socials for interesting flicks!
Getting ahead on school work vs doing what is expected
As someone who hates schoolwork, I get very excited to do it at the beginning of a semester. Getting ahead of assignments and feeling productive after a summer of hopefully relaxing can be easy. There is a feeling of accomplishment when you finish work aligned with the degree you are studying for.
However, getting ahead and doing more work than necessary can lead to burnout. In my experience, Professors are usually good at spreading out the amount of work they give during the semester. That being said, just do what they assign and nothing more. Assignments will get harder and more dense as the semester goes on, and it’s important to ease into them.
Now, if there is a little bit of extra credit here and there in the beginning, go for it! Just don’t overwork yourself. There are always a few assignments each semester that allow me to be grateful that I didn’t pile up work beforehand.
Most professors space things nicely and give breaks before big projects or exams. Trust them and stay on top of your work for a better chance of not dealing with fall burnout!
Trying new things vs. sticking to what you know
While this expectation and reality can go hand in hand with socializing, it’s also its own thing. While in college, you will meet new people, try new foods, learn new things, and figure out who you are. Trying new things spices up our lives.
These new things are essential to your college life. This set of expectations vs. reality is a bit more of a compromise rather than a this or that.
It is important to try new things, but staying with what you know is also important. What you know is what you are comfortable with. A balance between these two ideas makes for the perfect self-discovery recipe.
If you try too many new things, you can lose who you are. If you lose who you are, burnout will come quicker and be harder to get out of.
On the other hand, if you stay with what you are comfortable with, you won’t find yourself. It’s a tricky equation. Trust your gut when picking what is worth trying. And if it wasn’t something good, then oh well. There is always something else to try, and now you know you don’t like whatever it is.
College is a learning curve in the classroom and for yourself. Balance is key to avoiding burnout.
The most important tip to avoid burnout is to take time for yourself. Relax, watch a movie, do some skincare, read a book, etc. Just do whatever may calm you down.
Sometimes, these tricks might not work either, but that’s okay. Burnout happens to everyone, and we always get out of it.
Remember to take your time to ease the transition from summer to fall this semester. Everything happens for a reason!
