How to Avoid Student Burnout or Academic Fatigue
Have you ever felt excessively stressed and unmotivated whilst in the academe? If yes, that’s definitely burnout.
Student burnout is the state of frustration, lack of motivation, extreme stress, and universal exhaustion brought by the overwhelming demands of the academic community. Altogether, this results in a decline in a student’s performance, and you start missing deadlines and dropping grades or experience symptoms such as physical fatigue, low moods, and insomnia. You’ll feel drowned by all of the demands and responsibilities that you might even think about quitting. This phase is normal in the institution. It’s not just an excuse - student burnout is real and it could lead to anxiety disorders if not treated immediately.
Causes of academic burnout
Identifying the cause is the primary step to avoiding burnout. According to a study by Stephanie Cushman and Richard West, “Precursors to College Student Burnout: Developing a Typology of Understanding”, the main causes of burnout are:
- Assignment overload (49%)
- Outside influences (e.g. family, financial issues, and time management problems often caused by part-time jobs) (24%)
- Lack of personal motivation (13%)
- Professor problems (5%)
- Physical or mental issues (5%)
You should be able to recognize the signs to avoid burnout before it swallows you whole.
How to avoid academic burnout
Adjusting your lifestyle is a fantastic start in overcoming academic fatigue. Here are some habits you can add to your lifestyle and avoid student burnout:
Set reasonable goals
Stress is a huge contributor to burnout. The best way to prevent it is by setting realistic goals. Plan ahead before deciding to jump into an overload of classes. Make sure that your schedule can handle it without sacrificing your personal time. The same goes with meeting demanding deadlines. Learn to prioritize your tasks based on their urgency and start from there. When you feel like you’re getting beaten by deadlines, a good strategy is to hunt for tools like an academic transcription service that can lessen your load of endless writing and reporting requirements.
Take great notes
One cause of exhaustion in the academe is the overwhelming notes students have to take. The pressure of getting complete information is tremendous. Missing a few key details can jeopardize a whole project. Get the most out of lectures, seminars, academic research, or speeches without going through hurried note-taking by audio recording them for transcriptions. Transcription services are a lifesaver that can save you from going through a swamp of long interviews and enable you to spend more time on other tasks.
Get help
Students who overestimate and drown themselves with schoolwork are the ones who usually experience burnout. It’s great that you opt to be highly productive, but you must know and set your limitations. A great way to acknowledge that is to seek a solid support system - study groups, friends, family, or professional services - that will push you to persevere instead of throwing in the towel. Getting help also builds your momentum and gets you back in the game. Try joining group discussions and studies more often to understand lessons better and build friendships that will support you throughout your student life.
The greatest secret to avoiding student burnout is staying motivated to finish and meet a goal. Don't be hard on yourself to score perfectly in exams or assignments - simply tweak your perspective on academic achievements to have a healthy, clear mindset. At the end of the day, what matters is that you put your best effort into striving for excellence.
Research transcriptions are a great support tool for boosting your efficiency and productivity. Consider using a reliable transcription service provider to help you overcome burnout and succeed in your student life.