That's officially a wrap on my coursework portion of my PhD!! 4.0 across all semesters: fall, spring, and summer.
It was simultaneously one of the hardest and most rewarding two years of my life. The next three years will be full of independent study, coffee, pondering, walks in the woods, and candle-lit writing sessions. I can't wait!
⤷゛⊹ ࣪ ˖How to recover from academic burn out and be successful this semester: ࣪ ˖ˎˊ˗
a loooong guide
⤷from, a procrastinating nursing student
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♡1. start EARLY
and i do mean ASAP. before classes start you should have these things completely sorted out:
-where your classes are/how to navigate the online material
take a day and go to every one of your classes if you can. walk from building to building. if they're open, walk from class to class, and even pick out your ideal seat!
-your designated study and homework spot(s)
Stick to that place! Studies show that studying in a designated area increases focus, which helps with retention of the material. the area should be free of distractions, easily accessible within your study time,
-your folder/binder/bookbag set up. Make sure you have the essentials: Pencils, Pens, Highlighter, Sharpener/Lead, Paper, Notebooks or ipad, basic sanitary products, chargers, and A SNACK. Everything on campus is more expensive, so make sure you're buying things before hand so you're not spending 4x the market value on essential stationary, or 2 bucks on a crushed vending machine Pop Tart.
-who your teachers are and their teaching styles.
if you're in Canada, UK, or USA you can go to ratemyprofessors.com and find a lot of important information! **If you compare your professors to other teachers teaching the same class, you can see who has a better rating and possibly get advising to swap your class! Just make sure to do this as soon as you can, as there may or may not be spots still available. Alternatively, ask around. If you have friends at your university see if anyone knows-someone-who-knows-someone who had that professor.
-rest
you should be well rested up from the summer and ready to start off strong! spend your last week of freedom doing things you love and prepping or this next chapter
♡2 learn your faults/triggers
what happened to you?
were you taking too big of a course load? were you going out too much? did you fall behind and lose motivation? it's important to work through these things and make it as easy as possible on yourself. it's as simple as that. learn your patterns so you can make it as easy as possible on yourself to succeed. Here are some things that could've contributed to your latest burn-out and how to overcome them this semester:
-working while doing school was too much to handle?
apply for a work-study and take fewer hours at your other job to balance it out. You'll still be bringing in a steady income, PLUS you'll have a designated time to study during those normal school hours (which you would've been studying during anyway, but now you're getting paid for it). And those normal work hours? You'll have a bit more time there to relax and hangout with friends.
also, if you're a valued worker, ask for a raise and trim off a 2-3 hours each week. your boss is probably underpaying you anyways.
-taking too big of a course load for you?
take fewer classes, duh. This isn't a race, it's better to pass 4 classes with decent or great grades every semester for 5 years than barely scrape by in 4.5 years 'cause you have to retake a few.
But if that isn't an option for you, then that's okay. Try to schedule your classes so it gives you more flexibility, and maybe time to study in-between each class. Or, you can join a study group of people in your same classes so you have accountability.
-kept forgetting class work/gave up when you fell behind?
i cant stress this enough, WRITE ALL OF YOUR ASSIGNMENTS DOWN AS THEY COME! I use google calendar, and set notifications the day before each assignment is due. I also check my calendar every day, so there are never any surprises. Google calendar is free and easy to use, but if a pen-and-paper system is better for you, do that! But remember, a planner is easily lost and gives you no reminders. I would not recommend using both, as I think it's a bad idea to have all of your to-do's scattered in multiple places. this not only encourages disorganization, but it's hard to keep up with and will contribute to another burn out. Find your thing and stick to it, analog or not.
know it is never too late to get back on track. never. never. never. reach out to the teacher and set up an appointment asap if you've missed a few assignments, tell them your situation. If they accept late work, you're fine, pull yourself together. If they don't, ask if you can still turn in that work, acknowledging that it wouldn't be for a grade, but for the feedback/knowledge. I've done this plenty of times and most of the time professors that say they don't accept late work will still give me a grade. why? because I put the work in to catch up, and showed genuine interest in doing well and learning the missed material. If you're given a second chance like this, don't mess it up, no one likes a liar.
use the free campus tutors, or reach out to someone doing well in the class to help you through some of the more tricky material. Remember they have a life too, so don't waste their time showing up late!
if you have a history of falling behind in coursework because you're easily discouraged, find a tutor as soon as the semester starts, and see them weekly, so you never get behind in the first place.
-had bigger things going on like mental health, family issues, traumatic event, etc.
fair. stuff happens. it's important that you're taking time to heal, and settle major things that are going on so that you can go into this next semester with a clear head and a calm mind. taking a semester leave or even gap year might be a good option for you.
if that "bigger thing" is settled and taken care of already, my advice is to make sure that you have a support system of any kind ready to be there for you if things get too overwhelming. know that it's okay to slow down, and avoid triggers, of course.
-social life got in the way?
you need better friends.
just kiddinggg, you need discipline. tackle this fear of fear of missing out, or your going to be missing out on your degree. clubs, hangouts, and parties aren't a graduation requirement, so make sure that your classes are your priority. It's okay to have other areas you're dedicated to outside of your classes, but if too much attention to that is what's causing your academic downfall, you need to cut them back.
make friends in your classes and put together study-centered hangouts. This way you can get your time with friends and time in the books out the way! there's no reason you have to be isolated while you get your work done (unless you can't be trusted to stay on task during a small group study sesh, then sorry babes, lock yourself away so you can lock in)
-just stopped caring/it's not your dream?
why? do you not want this for your future? it's more than likely that it's actually one of the reasons above and you're too desensitized to care anymore. I would suggest taking a semester or a year off, if possible, and try again with a clear plan sometime in the future.
if your parents are paying for your college and forcing you to go to university or something like that, and you're just burnt out from the pressure of your family breathing down your neck, i would suggest talking to them to see if their is another respectable major that they would pay for and you wouldn't be so miserable in. Not everyone's meant to be a doctor! Maybe you should be in trade school doing something with your hands. It would save them a lot of money and fuss, and there are lots of other "respectable" jobs out there that make good money and are fulfilling!
An alternative to the overbearing-family-situation that i described above, you can add an elective or two to your schedule each semester that you're excited about! This way you still have a place to express yourself and explore/study things you're actually interested in, while pleasing your parents. People aren't going to understand what it's like to have parents who are still very involved, even into your adult life, and that's okay. You can have a life outside of what your parents want for you, you just have to work for it. Join a club that aligns with your interests, spend your free time pursuing things that align with your dreams.
♡3 make a plan + stay consistent
we've seen what happens when you don't, unfortunately.
make a schedule for yourself, a routine that is easy for you to follow and incorporates times for rest, making plans, and planning out your next move.
it's easier said than done, so here are some ideas to stay on top of things.
-study buddy/accountability partner
like a study group, but just one pal! it's always easier to organize things with just one person than a group of people. this person, ideally, should be in a better place than you academically, because they can be trusted to stay on task and seeing the difference in work ethic between you two will inspire you to try harder! surrounding yourself around people who are academically motivated (but not toxically competitive) is a great way to help yourself stay consistent.
-google calendar
i mentioned this earlier, and i meant it. make that routine and plop it right into google calendar! make it a widget on your phone, and you'll be forced to look at the things you said you were going to do every day. very effective if you check it every day before your study session
-alarms
set alarms for everything. the time you should be studying, the time you should be going to bed, the time you should be heading out the door. they're annoying, but if you set them ahead of time they're incredibly effective!
-rewards
a little treat never hurt anyone! it's easy to stay consistent when every B gets you a picnic and every A gets you a brunch with friends! Set money aside in a special checking account that you only go into when you get the grades you want.
-schedule send emails
on the first week of classes, schedule send an email to your professors to be sent every month to your professors asking about your class performance. They don't know it's a schedule send, and you'll have likely forgotten about it! when the notification hits your phone each month you'll get a little slap back to reality.
-schedule a midterm meeting with your professor
2 weeks before or after midterms, set up a face-to-face meeting with your professors to review your performance and ask them any questions you haven't been able to get through via the email check ins. this is just another way to stay consistent with your school work.
-break days
everyone needs a break day! make sure you're working these into your schedule appropriately so you can work hard on the other days
-small frequent chunks
you know this. you'll have much better grades and mental health if you spend 2-4 hours studying 6 days a week than if you pull all-nighters the day before each test and the last week of school doing catch up work.
The pattern in all of these "consistency builders," is creating as many possible run-ins with your school work, classmates, and teachers as possible. you can't fall off if you've got alarms, accountability partners, emails from your teachers, notifications from google calendars, and appropriate times for rest BUILT IN to your daily/weekly routine.
♡4 have a backup plan
soooo, what if it all goes south and you're 4 weeks into classes already seeing yourself slip?
-talk to your advisor
They can help sort out the best plan for you, maybe taking the withdraw in a class to retake it over the summer is best! maybe toughing it out and hiring a professional tutor is the move.
-change up your study routine.
maybe you're not as productive at night as you thought you would be, and you're too tired to focus at the end of a long day. move your study time!! maybe you thought pomodoro would be good for you, but you keep getting distracted during the 5 minute break period; switch it up!
-take an extra day off
sometimes you just need an extra break. nothing wrong with that. take an extra day off of studying, recuperate, maybe make a new schedule where you have weekends off. just make sure the time that you spend studying in the future is 100% focused on studying, and the time you're resting is 100% school free, so those break days don't multiply.
-reorganize your life
your bookbag is probably a mess and your laundry is probably sky-high. no wonder you're falling off! have a room refresh and take a shower so you're feeling like yourself again.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ whatever you do, take action as soon as you notice yourself entering a rut.
