Studying… Burning Out

Hi Friends, I was thinking recently about something I’ve noticed as a student.

One of my favorite TED talks is by a Neuroscientist named Michael Merzenich, and within his video he introduces the brain as machine and says “It is constructed for change”. Change is the nature of existence, yet when it comes to energy or emotions students sometimes seem like they are totally caught out.

Everything moves in cycles, stocks have booms and busts, industries have business cycles and there are roughly four seasons in a year. Summer lasts for one season. Or less. (But certainly not more, this is not Westeros.)

AND YET somehow as students we have the idea that these change-machines inside our heads should NOT have cycles, that as long as we feed it a balanced diet and rest it once a day it can continue to operate at a steady consistent humming speed. We act like we are always at peak performance. We wonder why we wake up one day and are utterly sick of the whole thing and can’t recall why we started.

THEN we get into a new cycle, the cycle of ignoring our work and feeling ashamed or distressed that we’ve done so. We burnout. What is burnout? It is the psychological term that refers to long-term exhaustion and diminished interest in work.

So why does it seem we all forget that this even exists until it is right on top of us? How do we convince ourselves that cycles and of change and response don’t apply to us? Runners experience the runners high, a huge endorphin boost that can eliminate  feelings of stress and fatigue (It is super awesome). However: runners ALSO know that it comes to a very definite end, and when it does it is called HITTING THE WALL.

SO what to do? As a starting point, here are a few treatment and prevention points that might be of assistance. 

On Burnout:

• Accept that at some point you are probably going to develop burnout. You might even be on your way right now. You might want to never open your books again, you might consider quitting. This is OK, even though it is not an easy thing to admit. It does not mean you are a bad student. To a large degree, our success as students depends on our ability to be interested in what we study, so admitting when we are not firing on all cylinders is a huge step.

• If you are not already doing so, take care of yourself. Commit to eating healthy food that you enjoy the taste of, commit to fresh air and physical activity that you enjoy. Two things that help me are running and rock climbing. Commit to spending your time with good company. Commit to your sleep. There are limitless places to find information on each of these, I recommend Zen Habits, Lifehacker and Fitocracy.

• If you have sources of stress in your life that you can eliminate somehow then do it. Have a strategy for managing your stress before it manages you. And if some things need to not get done well then don’t sweat it. Burnout can go hand in hand with perfectionism and trying to be everything to everyone all the time. Expecting yourself to be perfect is a burden, losing sleep, eating poorly and becoming stressed and anxious to be perfect is not worth it.

• On that note, with each leap and bound in performance we soon start experiencing diminishing returns in our results. Know when to quit. “After x hours I could get 90%, but if I just do double the hours I’ll get an extra 3%!” Not sustainable. Also not good business. Being good is not the same thing as being perfect. Yes this might mean you get a lower mark. If you had unlimited hours then every task on earth would be done flawlessly. But you don’t.

• If you feel like you need to take a break, take one. Let yourself have some fun. There is nothing Stoic about struggling onward when it is the wrong time. Don’t think about should. I should be this I should be that, I should should should. The world is full of shoulds, and sometimes ignoring them all is the best option. Have some time off, take a study-holiday for a night or a day or a weekend. This is OK. And if you can, try to take actual holidays too.

• Share your thoughts with others. A lot of the time you’ll find the feeling is mutual. Recently I mentioned in a group that I felt drained by one of my courses. Reading the words but they weren’t going in. Quite a few people responded in complete agreement. There is tremendous value in this. Everyone gets sick and tired of work, even work they enjoy. Don’t be isolated.

• Treat yourself. So this goes along with “take a break” but sometimes they are distinct. Example: I bought an aeropress coffee maker, and have been experimenting with it since then. This was a nice treat as I get the satisfaction of fresh delicious coffee in the morning instead of instant crystals (Seriously what are those things?) and it is a good start to the day. Sometimes it is the small things.

• Take pride in your achievements. What you are doing is hard. You are bettering yourself. You are putting yourself through the paces on a course that challenges you. You are stepping out of your comfort zone. If you are studying with The Open Unibersity this also means you are doing it entirely upon your own initiative. YOU made this decision. You said “This I am going to do”. Friend, you are a badass.
  
• Note: I am not an expert or a doctor. Neither is Bill Murray. This post might not be what you need if you feel you need assistance with emotional or mental health issues. In that case your best bet is a qualified practitioner:)