Welcome back to UF, Gators! Hopefully, you had a week to unwind, relax and take your mind off school for a bit, but now it’s back to the routine of assignments, quizzes, exams, essays and schoolwork of all kinds. We have to do it for about eight more weeks until the end of the semester. Some of you might be thinking, “Eight weeks? I’m so close to summer now!” To those people, I admire your optimism. For me and many others, we are thinking, “Eight weeks? How am I going to last that long?” Well, never fear. This column is for you!
After a weeklong break, you may find it hard to adjust back into the grind, and that’s understandable. Unfortunately, school doesn’t stop for readjustments, so you’ll need to get back in gear as quickly as possible. You’ll need to jump right into your essays, study for your next test, get a head start on your homework and do whatever you need to do to get your work done. This will put you on the right path, whereas not jumping in and procrastinating can lead to trouble.
Though it may not seem like it when you’re in the throes of writing an entire 1,000-word essay at midnight the day before it’s due, there is such a thing as working too much. An occasional all-nighter or nonstop working session is one thing, but doing it constantly will leave you worn out and stressed. Instead of doing everything at the last minute, break the assignment into chunks. Do one chunk every day, every other day or every week (depending on how much time you have). You can still save the biggest chunk for the end if you insist on working just before the assignment is due.
However, there’s a more insidious consequence of constantly working and stressing: burnout. The Mayo Clinic defines job burnout (although I think similar principles apply to school burnout) as a “special type of work-related stress — a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity.” To put it briefly, when you’re burned out, it means you have a harder time being productive, and other aspects of your life may also be negatively affected, due to your total exhaustion. Besides difficulty working, burnout can also lead to irritability, lack of satisfaction with your work and even physical symptoms like headaches or stomach problems. Needless to say, burnout is no fun, so do your best to avoid it.
Instead of working constantly, take short breaks at regular intervals (say, 15-30-minute breaks every two hours of work or 10-minute breaks every hour of work). When you’re not working, do an activity that’s relaxing for you. This could be yoga, meditation or just watching your favorite TV show. Participating in clubs and extracurricular activities can also help you to separate yourself from work. Even something as simple as getting enough sleep every night can help alleviate burnout. Perhaps most importantly, remind yourself that you are not your grades. As the Mayo Clinic explained, psychologically, burnout can cause you to lose your sense of personal identity and associate yourself wholly with your job or schoolwork, and that’s something you need to combat right away. While keeping up with schoolwork is important, it’s not your sole purpose in life, and your work doesn’t define you. You are your own person.
For some people, schoolwork isn’t fun. Even in college, you’ll do a lot of coursework you don’t want to do. It’s just a fact of life. However, that doesn’t mean you need to become burned out and unmotivated. Making time for relaxing and leisure and keeping things in perspective will help you push through the rest of the semester and remain productive all the way until summer vacation. So come on Gators, let’s go get this bread!
Jason Zappulla is a UF history junior. His column appears on Mondays.
