With midterm week coming to a close, this may seem like an ill-timed article, but the tips and tricks I will share are relevant at all times of year! Whether you’re on a study term or a work term, it’s important to learn how to avoid burnout and balance your work with your play!
Tip #1: Schedule your time off
This may seem like a no-brainer to some and outrageous to others, however, it will always help to schedule time out of your week, or even your day, for taking a break! It’s important to have that scheduled time, otherwise, you may find yourself working long hours without giving your brain time to pause. This makes often leads to fatigue and, ultimately, burnout.
Tip #2: Reduce your social media time during your breaks
I’ll admit it, my brains are fried, and every chance I get, I hop on my phone and scroll for this quick and easy dopamine shot. It always feels so good to just turn off your brain, but what’s easy to miss is that social media is a breeding ground for comparison and self-doubt. While scrolling, you see a friend travelling to Greece, an influencer at another penthouse party, and a celebrity buying yet another sumptuous car. This kills your happiness and makes your break feel like a burden. Instead of returning to your work feeling refreshed, you’ll feel drained and demoralized. Try to reduce your social media time, or better yet, replace your hour-long social media scroll with a hobby instead!
Tip #3: Find the joy in the little moments; channel your inner child
This is a big one, and with our ever-evolving world finding itself intertwined with social media and online presence, it’s important to romanticize the little things. The online world makes us feel like we always need a grandeur vacation, expensive clothes, or a big party to feel happy and to truly enjoy life, but I’m here to tell you that life is in all the little things we do. Life is all around us, all the time. It’s so easy to miss your friend’s big smile as they wave you goodbye after a long day of classes. It’s easy to forget the taste of the yummy chocolate cake you had today as a sweet treat. The beautiful sunset passes your mind as you get ready for another hardcore study session. All of these things make life beautiful, make life fun, enjoyable and worth it. When you’ve got your head in the books, you don’t notice the little things. Next time you’re taking a break, look out the window at the clouds and imagine all the shapes in your head as your childhood self would. As you sit to eat your delicious chocolate cake, put the phone away and try to taste the flavour of decadent chocolate on your tongue. When class ends and you wave your friend goodbye, give them a big smile back.
To conclude, I’d like to say that as engineering students, we stretch ourselves thin. We expect our performance in class and co-op to be one hundred percent, all the time. And that’s unrealistic and harmful. Changing your perspective and taking time to appreciate all the work you’ve done will allow you to go further in the future.
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