Have you ever looked at your to do list and suddenly became overwhelmed or unmotivated? Or perhaps you end the day completely exhausted, yet still feel unaccomplished? These are just a few of the many warning signs that you are experiencing burnout. But hey, you know what? That is completely okay! Countless people experience burnout multiple times throughout their life. What’s more, burnout can easily be treated with simple stress relief and balance techniques that will help you jump out of whatever type of burnout you’re experiencing: college burnout, professional burnout, or just life burnout! So, if that is what you’re here for, just keep reading below for the top 17 ways to avoid or cure burnout!
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy for more information.
What is burnout?
I am glad you’ve asked! Burnout is the exhaustion of the human body and mind from the current state of life (is that the exact definition? Absolutely not. I just made it up… but HERE is the exact definition from people much smarter than me). Basically, burnout is when you reach your limit in your current state of life. It is quite common for college students who have been hitting the books hard for months on end and can’t seem to read another page, or workaholics who stare at computer screens all day and no longer feel motivated to do so anymore.
Burnout Warning Signs:
- Lack of motivation to complete tasks
- Frequent feeling of overwhelm
- Poor focus throughout the day
- Failure to meet goals, or you are setting unrealistic goals
- Completed work is unsatisfying
- You find it difficult to complete full projects
- You’re too busy to find the time for the activities or people you love
- Feeling of unhappiness or negative thoughts
- Brain feels fried at the end of every day
- Constant feeling of stress and lack of productivity
Pin this post for later!
17 Ways to Avoid College Burnout:
So, now that you know WHAT burnout is, how do you cure it? Well, you can do two main things. First, you can either avoid burnout all together by integrating balance into your life. Or, you can cure burnout by practicing self-care regularly. Even better, you can do both! Creating a well-balanced lifestyle is the key to maintaining a healthy relationship with your life and preventing burnout all together. With the tips listed below, you will have absolutely no problem with burnout any longer! So, let’s dive right in.
1. Change up your Planning and Organization Systems
My first tip is to boost your productivity, a key player in burnout. The higher your productivity levels are, the more success and accomplishment you feel. Are your current planning and organization systems keeping you productive? If not, change them up! And remember to change them up when they become stale again! If you’re needing a new planning system, check out my student printable planner! It has 50 different planning pages including student calendars, checklists, worksheets, and so much more!
Related: Organize Your Life with the Only Student Printable Planner You’ll Ever Need in School
If you are in need of some planning inspiration, check out some of my planning and productivity tips:
- 17 Tips for Successful Planner Organization
- The Ultimate Guide to Mastering Your To Do List 54 Life Changing Tips!
- Discover 10 New Secrets for College Productivity
- 13 Time Management Tips to Explode Your Productivity
- Master the Project Planning Process in 10 Easy Steps
2. Create a healthy morning and night routine (and switch them up when they get dull!)
Routines bring comfort and security into our strange human lives. They are also a great way to incorporate new healthy habits into each day. However, routines can also lead to unhealthy habit formation as well. Use routines to your advantage and change them up, even just slightly, into the healthier realm every once in a while. If it helps, write down your routines in a list format before they become engrained.
3. Integrate Self Care into Your Daily Life
Speaking of routines, try to integrate some self-care into them, even if it is just weekly! Some self-care ideas include:
- Yoga
- Meditation (I am obsessing over the Headspace App, check it out!)
- Journaling
- Long hot baths (with fun bath bombs, of course…)
- Spa Days
Related: A Beginners Guide to Junk Journalling: How to Combine Your Scrapbook and Journal
4. Create realistic and healthy goals for both your professional and personal life
Perhaps your problem is more towards the motivation side. One great way to conquer this is to set realistic yet still challenging goals for both your professional (or school) and personal lives. Be sure to create a goal tracking system and a really cool reward for when you meet your goals!
Related: Achieve Your long-Term Goals in 8 Simple Steps
Some examples:
- Workout five times per week for three months
- Ace your next three exams
- Land a new and exciting job
- Drink two liters of water every day for two months
- Go on one adventure each weekend for the next four weeks
- Read 10 books before the end of the year
Related: The Ultimate Finals Week Survival Guide: 55 Secrets for Success
5. Create a more productive study routine
If you’re a college student, study routines are incredibly important to avoiding burnout. They are the bread and butter of your college life. So, if you are stuck in a rut with yours, check out my Ultimate Guide for Studying for an Exam post and Ultimate Finals Week Survival Guide. It completely covers how to study for an exam and talks about creating productive study routines throughout the semester.
Related: How to Completely Change the Way to Study and Begin Acing your Exams
6. Remind yourself of your life’s mission (why are you doing what you’re doing?!)
If you haven’t created a life mission statement yet, I highly encourage you to do so. This is an incredible exercise that will, not only assist you in your professional goals (and finding your dream career if you haven’t done so already), but a great motivational tool in order to keep you focused on what is truly important in life.
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Your Personal Mission Statement
What is a mission statement?
A mission statement is a short, one to two sentence statement that embodies what your personal goals and life missions are. They are completely unique to each individual but are incredibly empowering. There are clear instructions on how to do this in my favorite career book What Now? By Nicholas Lore, and in the book How to Develop Your Personal Mission Statement by Stephen R. Covey.
Related: 10 Foolproof Steps to Finding your Dream Career
7. Add leisure activities to your to do list
Many people find that leisure activities are difficult to fit into their busy schedule. Instead of looking at fun activities this way, add them to your to do list! This can make you feel more accomplished by checking something off, and boost your mental health at the same time! So start planning your next adventure now!
Pin this post for later!
8. Find a new hobby
Hobbies are a great way to take your mind off of everyday life stresses. One great hobby that I highly suggest is blogging! It is so much fun, helps kickstart your career, and brings in some decent cash!
Related: Ten Reasons Why Starting a Blog will Kick Start Your Career and Help you Pay for College
9. Join a club or group activity
Clubs and group activities are also great ways to sneak in some stress-free time into your schedule. This could be a professional or academic club, book club, fitness group, knitting circle… the options are endless!
Pin this post for later!
10. Begin reading every night (for fun!)
Reading is hands down my personal secret weapon to stress management and burnout avoidance. I read every night before I go to bed (and often listen to audiobooks during my commute). Books are such an amazing way to gain some insightful knowledge or just escape reality for a little bit!
Related: 21 Life-Changing Books for 20-Something’s (that will teach you everything school didn’t!)
11. Schedule a full weekend for fun!
Perhaps what you need is a complete weekend away from your life… or something big and fun to look forward to. Take off for a few days on a big road trip or backpacking trip with some of your favorite people (or hit the road solo) and leave your to do list at home!
Related: The Ultimate Southwest National Parks Road Trip Itinerary
12. Spend time with the people you love
Try to block out some time every week to spend it with the people you love. Perhaps create a weekly game night, themed Sunday dinners, or simply phone a friend for a few minutes. Our game night group is currently obsessing over Betrayal at House on the Hill, it is SO MUCH FUN!
13. Designate certain times during the day to unplug
Next, a good habit to get into is unplugging from the world every once in a while. You will be pleasantly surprised how freeing it is to just turn your phone of for the night or weekend!
14. Get a Healthy Amount of Sleep
A good amount of sleep is key to maintaining a healthy body and mind. If you’re ever so burnout that you don’t know where to begin, start with your sleep schedule. I have been currently using these sleep supplements, and they have absolutely been a game changer on my sleep quality!
15. Squeeze in a 30 minute workout every day of the week
Exercising is another HUGE way you can relieve stress, boost your mood, enhance your energy, and maintain a healthy body all at the same time! When you feel good, it is much easier to get things done!
16. Change your Diet
Another health related tip is to change up your diet. If you’re not eating incredibly healthy meals, begin integrating more fruit and veggies into your diet. If you already are, switch things up for different healthy meals! Also, be sure to have a daily vitamin to cover all of your bases. A healthy diet is so incredibly beneficial for your body and mind, and is crucial to productivity!
Related: The Ultimate Secret to Eating Healthy on a College Budget
17. Decrease caffeine and other stimulants that are associated with anxiety + increase your water intake
My last tip, but certainly not least, is to limit your coffee intake. Better yet, limit your stimulant intake, including caffeinated tea, soda, and energy drinks. Caffeine can increase anxiety, decrease sleep, dehydrate the body, and decrease nutrient absorption. (HERE is a great article about the negative and positive effects of caffeine, remember: the key is moderation). I know many people love their morning coffee but slowly decreasing your caffeine intake can have some monumental (good) effects on your body!
Pin this post for later!
Well, there you have it folks! My personal top 17 tips to avoiding and/or curing burnout. The key is to take care of your body, boost your mental health, and integrate balance into your life. Using just one tip is help you dramatically but integrate many could truly change your stress levels! I hope you have found at least a few of these helpful and that you can avoid future burnouts in the future!
Looking for some great productivity tips? Check out my ultimate guide to getting everything done on your to do list!
Comments are closed.