How do you recover from burnout?

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Chamahk

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I got all the symptoms. I need help and I need it FAST before it's too late. How do you recover from a burnout? What are the strategies? Right now, none of the things I have tried seems to be working for me. I started out decently enough but now all my strategies and plans are not working. I'm out of ideas on what to do.

I'm taking 18 credits and I'm considering dropping a 3 credit course and going down to 15 so I wont feel so stressed out. But I only completed 8 credits (first semester freshman) last semester and I really NEED to get this 18 credits completed at least then it can balance the 8 credits taken last semester. My GPA was 3.11 last semester no pre-reqs were taken. I need to raise my GPA.

I'm taking: English, History, Bio + lab, Chem + lab and Music (minor). I find
All these classes are really time consuming and require a lot of reading and studying and I feel really overwhelmed but I think that due to poor planning. A 3.8+ gpa is what I'm looking for. So I wouldn't mind one/two B's and A's in everything else.

Help. How do I not get discouraged? stay motivated? I've been hitting the gym and I playing soccer every Friday. I'm also in a non science related club that I actively participate in every Thursday. I've cut down on parties and everything. Haven't attended a single one. What more can I do?

how did you 4.0'ers out there get that? what is your secret? If you were taking 18 credits how would you balance it and study?

The only thing I can think of right now is a plan where I would be depriving myself of sleep :(

Please help. This is no troll here. Serious here guys. please :scared::scared:

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Stay up later, maybe sacrifice some ZZZ if you have to. I'm also taking 18 credits -- last night I only got 3 hours of sleep. Sunday night I only got 4. But then again, I tend to procrastinate a lot. It really shouldn't be too hard to get a few A's and B's if that's what you're shooting for. I'm gunning for a 4.0 this semester, I can't afford any B's before I get to organic.

Have you tried maybe cutting back on your EC's? Unless you really enjoy them, obviously. But if you don't, cut back on those and give yourself some more free time or study time.
 
I got all the symptoms. I need help and I need it FAST before it's too late. How do you recover from a burnout? What are the strategies? Right now, none of the things I have tried seems to be working for me. I started out decently enough but now all my strategies and plans are not working. I'm out of ideas on what to do.

I'm taking 18 credits and I'm considering dropping a 3 credit course and going down to 15 so I wont feel so stressed out. But I only completed 8 credits (first semester freshman) last semester and I really NEED to get this 18 credits completed at least then it can balance the 8 credits taken last semester. My GPA was 3.11 last semester no pre-reqs were taken. I need to raise my GPA.

I'm taking: English, History, Bio + lab, Chem + lab and Music (minor). I find
All these classes are really time consuming and require a lot of reading and studying and I feel really overwhelmed but I think that due to poor planning. A 3.8+ gpa is what I'm looking for. So I wouldn't mind one/two B's and A's in everything else.

Help. How do I not get discouraged? stay motivated? I've been hitting the gym and I playing soccer every Friday. I'm also in a non science related club that I actively participate in every Thursday. I've cut down on parties and everything. Haven't attended a single one. What more can I do?

how did you 4.0'ers out there get that? what is your secret? If you were taking 18 credits how would you balance it and study?

The only thing I can think of right now is a plan where I would be depriving myself of sleep :(

Please help. This is no troll here. Serious here guys. please :scared::scared:

Do you live in a dorm? I only ask because as stupid as it sounds how I ate really affected my motivation. I lived in an apt without a meal plan and when I did fast food all the time my stress levels increased. Also to combat burnout don't study every sat night. Plan in some time for fun. If your thing is parties go for it every once in awhile. Not going to lie I had many semesters where I deprived myself of sleep to manage my schedule. It isn't ideal but it happens. Just keep going. Eventually this semester will end. :)
 
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Short answer is that you don't balance 18 credits with studying, at least not if you had problems with 8. I've done it before but it was a last resort and definitely killed my GPA and my health. In any event you don't need to balance anything: do something that nets you a few credits this summer (semester at sea/ language course abroad/something else relaxing, not more time at school) and drop down to 15 or fewer credits now. Drop whatever you're having the most problems with. To recover from burnout take a weekend off after your next round of tests and come back strong.

Not sleeping enough doesn't work for more than a day or two. After that it's counter productive. It's not a good plan. You need to stay healthy (eat, exercise, and recreate) or your grades will suffer.

Now to address why you got a 3.11 with 8 credits would take more work and more information. The answer could be that you don't really know what hard work means yet and, even though you think you're working nonstop, you're actually spending a lot more time with beer/Halo than you need to. It could mean you have poor study strategies relative to your peers. It could be that you're not taking care of yourself and your sleep/health is suffeering from your poor decisions. It could mean you have ADD and need medication now that you're dealing with more intense course work. It could mean you're depressed or anxious and need both therapy and mediciation. It could even mean that you're having problems with this level of academic competition for the same reason I would have problems competing in the NFL. More background about how you study and how you did in high school might help us advise you, but ultimately a advisor/psychologist/physician at your school might offer you better advice than an internet forum possibly could.

So short term advice:

1) Find a summer program before they all fill up
2) Drop a course (or two)
3) See an academic advisor and maybe a psychologist/physician
4) Take a weekend off, then come back and work really hard.
 
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Stay up later, maybe sacrifice some ZZZ if you have to. I'm also taking 18 credits -- last night I only got 3 hours of sleep. Sunday night I only got 4. But then again, I tend to procrastinate a lot. It really shouldn't be too hard to get a few A's and B's if that's what you're shooting for. I'm gunning for a 4.0 this semester, I can't afford any B's before I get to organic.

Have you tried maybe cutting back on your EC's? Unless you really enjoy them, obviously. But if you don't, cut back on those and give yourself some more free time or study time.

I was always told it's not a good idea to go 24/7 studying and the guys on here always bash guys who come on here claiming they do that. As a result I made sure I didn't have my head in books 24/7. I don't study in the library either. I study in my room with the blinds up so I can enjoy a nice view and study and not be in a depressing quiet library. And it's not been a problem.

In total:

Soccer = 3 hours a week (Friday's *once in a blue moon Saturday's)
Organ practice = 2 hours a week (Saturday's)
Bible study = 1 hour a week (Thursdays
Gym = 12 hours a week (2 hours 6 days | Mon, Tue, Wed, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
------------------------------------------
~18 hours of non-school related stress release activities a week.

I think I'm going to try the low hours of sleep thing. The problem though, I am worried that because I work out, depriving myself of at LEAST 5 hours of sleep a night is a bad idea. I'm afraid for my health. I want to get in med school but not at the expense of my life/ health. So long as I wont drop / collapse because of putting the body through too much intense physical stuff.

If anything, I would cut back on the soccer if I had to.
 
No offense, but your study methods haven't exactly been effective considering you pulled a 3.11 with 8 credits and are completely burning out with 18. But then again, what would I know about effective study methods... *cough*
 
Short answer is that you don't balance 18 credits with studying, at least not if you had problems with 8. I've done it before but it was a last resort and definitely killed my GPA and my health. In any event you don't need to balance anything: do something that nets you a few credits this summer (semester at sea/ language course abroad/something else relaxing, not more time at school) and drop down to 15 or fewer credits now. Drop whatever you're having the most problems with. To recover from burnout take a weekend off after your next round of tests and come back strong.

Not sleeping enough doesn't work for more than a day or two. After that it's counter productive. It's not a good plan. You need to stay healthy (eat, exercise, and recreate) or your grades will suffer.

Now to address why you got a 3.11 with 8 credits would take more work and more information. The answer could be that you don't really know what hard work means yet and, even though you think you're working nonstop, you're actually spending a lot more time with beer/Halo than you need to. It could mean you have poor study strategies relative to your peers. It could be that you're not taking care of yourself and your sleep/health is suffeering from your poor decisions. It could mean you have ADD and need medication now that you're dealing with more intense course work. It could mean you're depressed or anxious and need both therapy and mediciation. It could even mean that you're having problems with this level of academic competition for the same reason I would have problems competing in the NFL. More background about how you study and how you did in high school might help us advise you, but ultimately a advisor/psychologist/physician at your school might offer you better advice than an internet forum possibly could.

So short term advice:

1) Find a summer program before they all fill up
2) Drop a course (or two)
3) See an academic advisor and maybe a psychologist/physician
4) Take a weekend off, then come back and work really hard.

My school offers this wonderful "work a couple of hours for us a day and we'll give you free room and board and you can take classes when you're not working. Just get financial aid to pay for classes or put this bill on your fall semester." summer program and I was hoping on doing that but unfortunately something personal has come up and I wont be able to do that. Otherwise I would have dropped some courses and opted for summer classes.

Last semester I was fooling around too much. No studying. Not attending class and you can replace Halo with FIFA 11. I started out with 18. Dropped Bio and History after the first week. Then I didn't do any work so I fell behind in Chem and had to withdraw which is why I was left with 8 for the semester. I was advised to drop a course so I could stand a better chance at getting a 2.0 gpa or better so I wouldn't get kicked out of school. I pulled a late miracle in Stats. by getting a B- I had an F during mid-terms. So it's not that I struggled with 8 credits it's just that I fooled around. So during winter break I got serious and even started studying some of my notes ahead of this semester. And I started this semester with serious determination. Everyone was commenting on my dedication and focus this semester and not partying or anything. A floor mate even joked around "It's Friday..." because I was on the computer working on a Friday night.

But as we moved from the basics to the harder stuff, the work started to pile up. I couldn't balance doing homework and studying in one day and going to the gym. So I tried "get all assignments done during the day and go the gym and eat and sleep at 10 pm and wake up at 4 am (6 hours of sleep) and study 'til 8 am. Get breakfast at 8 and head out to class at 9 am." But that didn't seem to work either.

Lastly, I was thinking of not going to class tomorrow and just trying to catch up with everything. I'll stay in all day and study. But I'm not so sure about that.
 
Do you live in a dorm? I only ask because as stupid as it sounds how I ate really affected my motivation. I lived in an apt without a meal plan and when I did fast food all the time my stress levels increased. Also to combat burnout don't study every sat night. Plan in some time for fun. If your thing is parties go for it every once in awhile. Not going to lie I had many semesters where I deprived myself of sleep to manage my schedule. It isn't ideal but it happens. Just keep going. Eventually this semester will end. :)

Yeah I live in a dorm. And the dorm food is okay. I'm getting close to my gain weight goal. I've gained two pounds :cool:

Parties aren't exactly "my thing". I've given up drinking and sexual behaviors after somethings I did last semester that I'm not proud of. So parties really are something I can do without. I enjoy my Bible study club, playing soccer, practicing the organ, going the gym and stuff like that.
 
My school offers this wonderful "work a couple of hours for us a day and we'll give you free room and board and you can take classes when you're not working. Just get financial aid to pay for classes or put this bill on your fall semester." summer program and I was hoping on doing that but unfortunately something personal has come up and I wont be able to do that. Otherwise I would have dropped some courses and opted for summer classes.

Last semester I was fooling around too much. No studying. Not attending class and you can replace Halo with FIFA 11. I started out with 18. Dropped Bio and History after the first week. Then I didn't do any work so I fell behind in Chem and had to withdraw which is why I was left with 8 for the semester. I was advised to drop a course so I could stand a better chance at getting a 2.0 gpa or better so I wouldn't get kicked out of school. I pulled a late miracle in Stats. by getting a B- I had an F during mid-terms. So it's not that I struggled with 8 credits it's just that I fooled around. So during winter break I got serious and even started studying some of my notes ahead of this semester. And I started this semester with serious determination. Everyone was commenting on my dedication and focus this semester and not partying or anything. A floor mate even joked around "It's Friday..." because I was on the computer working on a Friday night.

But as we moved from the basics to the harder stuff, the work started to pile up. I couldn't balance doing homework and studying in one day and going to the gym. So I tried "get all assignments done during the day and go the gym and eat and sleep at 10 pm and wake up at 4 am (6 hours of sleep) and study 'til 8 am. Get breakfast at 8 and head out to class at 9 am." But that didn't seem to work either.

Lastly, I was thinking of not going to class tomorrow and just trying to catch up with everything. I'll stay in all day and study. But I'm not so sure about that.

Alright, that helps.

Back in undergrad I was my fraternity's scholarship chair, and the scenario that you described came up pretty often. A lot of our freshmen had gotten straight As all through HS, but when they came to college they enjoyed their freedom a little too much and ended up having to drop a bunch of classes. Basically, my job as scholarship chair was to convince them to:

1) actually drop the classes rather than 'tough it out' and try to pass (which they never would)

2) accept that because they dropped the classes they were going to spend another semester (maybe a summer semester) in college to catch up. In other words we needed to keep them from signing up for 18 or 21 hour semesters because they were 'behind'

If we could convince them to do both of those things they did fine. If we couldn't they killed their GPAs. Now you're half way there, since you already did the intelligent thing by dropping the classes and then creating a sustainable but disciplined study routine so that you don't repeat your mistakes. Now all you need to do is accept that you're overdoing it and drop down to 15 hours. You have at least 3 summer semesters left to make up for your slow start if you want to graduate on time (and you don't need to graduate on time, either).

Anyway, just one man's opinion.

Lastly, I was thinking of not going to class tomorrow and just trying to catch up with everything. I'll stay in all day and study. But I'm not so sure about that.

BTW, while some people do definitely do better not going to class, the reason not to go should be that you think the class is low yield rather than that you need to play catch up. Not going just because you're too behind on your work is a lot like paying your mortgage with your credit card. You're just digging a deeper hole.
 
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No offense, but your study methods haven't exactly been effective considering you pulled a 3.11 with 8 credits and are completely burning out with 18. But then again, what would I know about effective study methods... *cough*

I'm not sure I get you. That's why I started this thread. My methods aren't working(I'm aware) and I'm asking for some help.
 
I'm not sure I get you. That's why I started this thread. My methods aren't working(I'm aware) and I'm asking for some help.
And I offered some. Clearly you're not doing something correctly. You shouldn't have to be making so many sacrifices to pull off a decent GPA even with 18 credits. I'm taking 18 creds, doing undergrad research, get see my girlfriend 3-4 times a week, and procrastinate like a mofo.

I think you need to identify the source of your anxiety. Is it coming from the fact that, no matter how much you study, you're still not getting good grades OR is it because you can't party/chill as much as last semester OR is it from all the EC's you're doing simultaneously with 18 credits OR something else? In other words, why are you feeling burnt out?
 
My final semester of undergrad (before Post-bacc) I took 21 credit hours, was a TA, had a job for 12 hours a week for a little extra cash, went to the gym 4-5 times a week and wrote my thesis, so I know what busy entails.

You just have to man up a little bit, but take that little bit of personal time to do whatever you want. I call it my "feel human again" time. We have block exams now, so I basically go full speed and then post exam (once a month) just completely avoid books for a day and go have some introspective time in the park or wherever with a book. Every now and then I will take the evening off and go lift really hard, have a nice meal, or even just watch a few shows with a glass of wine.

About once every month and a half I hit a serious wall where I can't be in the same building anymore. I just mix up my studying and go somewhere else. Being in Florida, I can go to a nice cafe by a lake and watch cute girls jogging and play with puppies while "studying". Usually gets rid of that hatred towards all living, especially if I get a really good pastry and a couple shots of espresso in me.
 
Alright, that helps.

Back in undergrad I was my fraternity's scholarship chair, and the scenario that you described came up pretty often. A lot of our freshmen had gotten straight As all through HS, but when they came to college they enjoyed their freedom a little too much and ended up having to drop a bunch of classes. Basically, my job as scholarship chair was to convince them to:

1) actually drop the classes rather than 'tough it out' and try to pass (which they never would)

2) accept that because they dropped the classes they were going to spend another semester (maybe a summer semester) in college to catch up. In other words we needed to keep them from signing up for 18 or 21 hour semesters because they were 'behind'

If we could convince them to do both of those things they did fine. If we couldn't they killed their GPAs. Now you're half way there, since you already did the intelligent thing by dropping the classes and then creating a sustainable but disciplined study routine. Now all you need to do is accept that you're overdoing it and drop down to 15 hours. You have at least 3 summer semesters left to make up for your slow start if you want to graduate on time (and you don't need to graduate on time, either).

Anyway, just one man's opinion.

More like words of wisdom.

I got the papers for the drop course. I just need the necessary signatures and I'll be good to go. This will put me at 4 classes and 15 credits for the semester.

Also if it was up to me I would really go at 12/13 a semester (with summers in-between) :oops:
 
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i did 21 units last quarter, and honestly...
yeah, it's not that bad. You might be struggling a wee bit because of two labs, but you really shouldn't be having much trouble with 18 units. Maybe a little slack for being a freshman, but still
the only real suggestion is get used to less sleep. also, sleeping in class is a great way to catch up, if the material isn't interesting enough to keep you awake you're probably fine to just self-teach it
 
About once every month and a half I hit a serious wall where I can't be in the same building anymore. I just mix up my studying and go somewhere else. Being in Florida, I can go to a nice cafe by a lake and watch cute girls jogging and play with puppies while "studying". Usually gets rid of that hatred towards all living, especially if I get a really good pastry and a couple shots of espresso in me.

Yeah, I have the same thing with needing to change buildings. It's like my mind needs to learn how to be unproductive in each new place I study. My apartment hasn't worked for years, I lost the bookstores during Path, and I lost our academic buildings during step one. For step 2 my options are basically dive coffee shops, public parks, and the zoo. I'm leaning towards the zoo.
 
And I offered some. Clearly you're not doing something correctly. You shouldn't have to be making so many sacrifices to pull off a decent GPA even with 18 credits. I'm taking 18 creds, doing undergrad research, get see my girlfriend 3-4 times a week, and procrastinate like a mofo.

I think you need to identify the source of your anxiety. Is it coming from the fact that, no matter how much you study, you're still not getting good grades OR is it because you can't party/chill as much as last semester OR is it from all the EC's you're doing simultaneously with 18 credits OR something else? In other words, why are you feeling burnt out?

Oh okay. Now I get you.

"You shouldn't have to be making so many sacrifices to pull of a decent GPA even with 18 credits." It takes me a bit longer to get things down. :( hence I was trying to schedule studying 2 hours EVERYDAY for all 5 subjects (not counting time spent on homeworks and assignments). So I ended up in a situation where I was getting the assignments done but not getting enough amount of time to study and each new day in class WE MOVE ON so that means more material to try and study and it recently became too much for me so I started failing some quiz's since I wasn't getting enough time to study. And considering how determined I was and how well I started out getting 10/10 on a Chem quiz only to get a 5/10 just started to frustrate me. Then there's a Bio test coming up and I haven't had the time to study ANYTHING AT ALL since and it's just become too much for me to take and balance all at once and I have to finish a novel by March 19 and also practice about one and a half page of singing music by next week and I just exploded because I couldn't take it anymore and I haven't been able to get any work done since last week Sunday. I've just been doing late last minute work and I haven't even attempted to study because all the motivation has been lost
 
i did 21 units last quarter, and honestly...
yeah, it's not that bad. You might be struggling a wee bit because of two labs, but you really shouldn't be having much trouble with 18 units. Maybe a little slack for being a freshman, but still
the only real suggestion is get used to less sleep. also, sleeping in class is a great way to catch up, if the material isn't interesting enough to keep you awake you're probably fine to just self-teach it

It's a post like this that makes me feel like I shouldn't drop the course and I should keep it. this is so frustrating and I fell asleep in Bio today when the whole class was enjoying a great time talking about penis' on foreheads and what not :(
 
My final semester of undergrad (before Post-bacc) I took 21 credit hours, was a TA, had a job for 12 hours a week for a little extra cash, went to the gym 4-5 times a week and wrote my thesis, so I know what busy entails.

By then you were a matured senior who had gotten used to the system. Did you do that or would you even have thought of doing that in your freshman year? :(

I'm a freshman right now.
 
It's a post like this that makes me feel like I shouldn't drop the course and I should keep it. this is so frustrating and I fell asleep in Bio today when the whole class was enjoying a great time talking about penis' on foreheads and what not :(

Since you're new at this, some quick facts about (pre)medical students:

1) They like to one up people, especially when it comes to studying and grades. You can see how many people here are dropping by just to tell you that they're taking 21 credits with no problems. This gets worse as you go along so you need to learn to ignore it.

2) They often exagerate how easy things are for them, and sometimes will outright lie about how well they're doing. This also gets worse as you go along, so you need to learn not to measure yourself against their self reported accomplishments.

3) Some of them are smarter than you, and you'll need to get past that. I know, for certain, of at least a few students in my medical school who genuinely do go out multiple nights a week, work out every day, and honor every subject. Some of them also like to mention this fact, loudly, any time someone says they're having trouble with the workload. Well bless their freakish little hearts but the fact that they're savants doesn't mean that the rest of us don't need to work hard just to get good grades. Similarly the fact that some internet guy claims that he take three thousand credits a day and still spends all his afternoons at the playboy mansion doesn't mean that you should take more than a full courseload. Figure out what works for YOU. That means starting with a low number of credits and ECs and titrating up until you've an amount that you're comfortable with.

So the moral of the story is that when you say you're having trouble with something around a group of premeds and one helpfully says 'really? I thought it was easy' just go ahead and politely excuse yourself.
 
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By then you were a matured senior who had gotten used to the system. Did you do that or would you even have thought of doing that in your freshman year? :(

I'm a freshman right now.
Yikes...thats a little early to be burnt out. You need to purchase some firearms and make weekly range trips. The cure for burnout.
 
It's a post like this that makes me feel like I shouldn't drop the course and I should keep it. this is so frustrating and I fell asleep in Bio today when the whole class was enjoying a great time talking about penis' on foreheads and what not :(
I don't even want to know...

Given all the symptoms, I don't think you're studying very effectively. You may be studying a lot, but something is prohibiting you from understanding the material. If you study as much as you say you do without ANY distractions (i.e. facebook, texting, etc.) you should be doing much better than you are. But you're not. It's up to you to identify the barrier which is preventing you from learning the material in a time efficient manner.

Also, you don't need to be studying for several hours a day for each class. Most people can get by just studying a few hours before each quiz and a day or two in advance for big exams/midterms. I know I can. Try doing that. Otherwise you'll find yourself behind and burnt out studying for classes you don't need to be studying for.

Part of learning how to study effectively is being able to manage your time. It's a waste of your time studying for tests that are weeks away. You need to focus your attention on the assignments that are coming up the next day or next few days. To use an analogy: if you want to eat a cake, you don't try to eat the entire thing at once; you need to take it a piece at a time. That's how my HS tennis coach helped me get over some psychological hurdles in my game, and it worked. If I worried about winning the match, I would lose focus during the point I was playing and lose consecutive points until I lost the entire match. You need to take it one step at a time, especially with an 18 credit course load.

Also, I know what it's like to burnout. I entered college at a relatively young age after just turning 17. I was taking 18 credits that semester, playing varsity tennis, and getting used to living on my own. Although I ended that semester with a moderate 3.7 GPA, near the end of the semester I found myself in the ER due to a severe anxiety attack. It was a terrible and embarrassing experience. So I know what it's like to burnout. It sucks. Don't let it happen to you.
 
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Right now, I have a 4.0 GPA, and I've had it since my feshman year...that's 5 semesters of straight A's, and this upcoming semester looks promising too.

Everybody is different, so waht works for me may not work for you, but here is what I do.

1.) Even though I take around 18 credits a semester, I know my strengths and my weaknesses, and plan out my courses accordingly. Each semester, I take about three scienece and three humanities courses. I spend a HUGE amount of time on my sciences. To get A's in those courses, I need to read the book and take notes, do practice problems, etc. After it is all said and done, I almost have no study time for the humanities. But that's okay. I can write a 20 page paper in a night and it will look like I spent four weeks on the damn thing. So, if you have to take a heavy course load, balance it. 1/2 of the courses should be hard for you, and the other half should be courses you can still ace with very little time commitmant. If I took 18 credits of science a semester, my GPA would be closer to a 3.0.

2.) Start the semester strong. If you get A's on your first few exams, a C on an exam later---perhaps when you get overwhelmed and have three exams in one day---won't ruin your GPA. It is ALWAYS easier to start out strong than to play catch up later.

3.) You shouldn't have to read the textbook for every class. I usually have at least one prof. a semester who is such an AMAZING lecturer that I don't have to spend 12 hours a week reading & taking notes.

4.) Set short term goals. Think "I'll work really hard for this next exam!" Not, "Holy crap, I have to get A's on all of these exams!" If you worry about too much at once, you will crack!

5.) Never give up, never surrender! We all do stupid ****, but don't give up. The second semester of my freshman year, I waited until the night before a Chem II exam to even LOOK at the book. I could have said, "Screw it, I am doomed, I should just cry myself to sleep." Instead, I read all 80 pages of exam material in one night, did the practice problems, and got a B on that exam! I wouldn't advise being stupid on a regular basis, but doing SOME studying is ALWAYS better than none!

6.) Set up a reward system for yourself. My boyfriend has promised to take me to an amusement park if I get straight A's this semester and damnnit, I want some funnel cake! Short term rewards are a good idea to plan into your schedule too, so you have something to look forard too, besides exams. For example, I am planning on going to the movies once a month this semester. (Sucker Punch in March, African Cats in April, and Priest in May! :))

7.) Don't sleep in every weekend. The difference between waking up at 8am vs. noon is 4 HOURS of study time. That is a lot.

Don't deprive yourself of sleep on a regular basis. Some weeks you'll have to, but try to get 7-8 hours a night unless you absoluetly MUST stay up late.
 
Also, write a big sign above your desk that says, "Do you want to end up as a burger flipper? No? THEN GET OFF THE DEMOTIVATIONAL POSTERS BLOG AND STOP LOOKING AT LOLCATS!"
 
I got all the symptoms. I need help and I need it FAST before it's too late. How do you recover from a burnout? What are the strategies? Right now, none of the things I have tried seems to be working for me. I started out decently enough but now all my strategies and plans are not working. I'm out of ideas on what to do.

I'm taking 18 credits and I'm considering dropping a 3 credit course and going down to 15 so I wont feel so stressed out. But I only completed 8 credits (first semester freshman) last semester and I really NEED to get this 18 credits completed at least then it can balance the 8 credits taken last semester. My GPA was 3.11 last semester no pre-reqs were taken. I need to raise my GPA.

I'm taking: English, History, Bio + lab, Chem + lab and Music (minor). I find
All these classes are really time consuming and require a lot of reading and studying and I feel really overwhelmed but I think that due to poor planning. A 3.8+ gpa is what I'm looking for. So I wouldn't mind one/two B's and A's in everything else.

Help. How do I not get discouraged? stay motivated? I've been hitting the gym and I playing soccer every Friday. I'm also in a non science related club that I actively participate in every Thursday. I've cut down on parties and everything. Haven't attended a single one. What more can I do?

how did you 4.0'ers out there get that? what is your secret? If you were taking 18 credits how would you balance it and study?

The only thing I can think of right now is a plan where I would be depriving myself of sleep :(

Please help. This is no troll here. Serious here guys. please :scared::scared:
you are taking 18, man i am taking 21 and i still got time to watch house MD
 
OP, listen. Do what you need to do in order to secure good grades. If that requires only 15 credits then do it. Screw all of the people that lambaste you or those claiming 18 or 21 credit hours is easy. No, it's not. And, it doesn't get easier. Don't wear yourself out now or you're setting up for failure later on and might end up "not going anywhere." I had a few friends give up on applying to medical school, although very qualified, because they just didn't want to do it anymore. They got burnt out, were tired of it, and knew it wasn't getting any better.

Your goal is to get into medical school. Do well on your MCAT and get a good GPA. Volunteer, do some extracurriculars, maybe get involved in research. Do what works for you.

Screw the stigma (that doesn't exist) and get help. Go to your academic support center. Ask teachers for help. Get tutoring.

Listen to Perrotfish above.

And above all, don't feel you have to compete with the e-peen contest going on in this thread.
 
So this is from one burnout to another, although I'm in my fourth year and taking 12 credits + MCAT studying so not exactly the same situation, but I started analyzing myself.

If you have an iPod/iPhone/iPad, download the DailyTracker app and tack your study habits. How many hours a day do you study (and what/how)? How many breaks? How long do you sleep? When do you fall asleep and when do you wake up? This way you can analyze what you're doing wrong and fix it.

If your at the same point as me, that is one step above the analyzation part, you can do what I did and talk to a uni counselor. It was good to let loose. If that's not enough (it wasn't. Mine just listened, restated, and then gave old tips like "study just an hour a day and take breaks"), try a uni psychologist. I am calling one tomorrow morning.

We need to nip this burnout in the butt now, learn from it real quick. If you're like me and it takes you forever to learn how to do stuff, get the psychologist and see if they can speed it up.

Plus, running always helps. Always. :)
 
OP, listen. Do what you need to do in order to secure good grades. If that requires only 15 credits then do it. Screw all of the people that lambaste you or those claiming 18 or 21 credit hours is easy. No, it's not. And, it doesn't get easier. Don't wear yourself out now or you're setting up for failure later on and might end up "not going anywhere." I had a few friends give up on applying to medical school, although very qualified, because they just didn't want to do it anymore. They got burnt out, were tired of it, and knew it wasn't getting any better.

Your goal is to get into medical school. Do well on your MCAT and get a good GPA. Volunteer, do some extracurriculars, maybe get involved in research. Do what works for you.

Screw the stigma (that doesn't exist) and get help. Go to your academic support center. Ask teachers for help. Get tutoring.

Listen to Perrotfish above.

And above all, don't feel you have to compete with the e-peen contest going on in this thread.
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No need to get antsy, Nancy. I think some pretty sound advice has been given in this thread...
 
They often exagerate how easy things are for them, and sometimes will outright lie about how well they're doing. This also gets worse as you go along, so you need to learn not to measure yourself against their self reported accomplishments.
not gonna lie, there was a 3 week period when i was beyond miserable, and considering it's an 11 week quarter... lol
but i still think he should go through with it, really if you don't have the ability to make it it's better to find out earlier than get shot down senior year and have to figure out what to do next
Geneticist said:
Also, you don't need to be studying for several hours a day for each class. Most people can get by just studying a few hours before each quiz and a day or two in advance for big exams/midterms. I know I can. Try doing that. Otherwise you'll find yourself behind and burnt out studying for classes you don't need to be studying for.
this as well. If i had the willpower i'd go over notes and what not on weekends, but reviewing stuff every day is excessive. The best advice that comes to mind immediately is try getting ahead of the class and know what is being discussed that day. Even if it goes right on over your head, it still makes a difference when you're hearing it explained for the second time. and it's best to get it going asap, getting behind on something that is already difficult is antifun
 
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i did 21 units last quarter, and honestly...
yeah, it's not that bad. You might be struggling a wee bit because of two labs, but you really shouldn't be having much trouble with 18 units. Maybe a little slack for being a freshman, but still
the only real suggestion is get used to less sleep. also, sleeping in class is a great way to catch up, if the material isn't interesting enough to keep you awake you're probably fine to just self-teach it

I think this is misleading. You may have taken 21 credits, but that doesn't mean his 18 credits were less work. In fact, they could have been more work. I'm not sure what your major is or which courses you're taking, but I can assure you that anything more than 16-17 credits (4 courses) in my major would be extremely difficult. It's not fair to tell him that he shouldn't be having much trouble without knowing his major and courses.
 
I think this is misleading. You may have taken 21 credits, but that doesn't mean his 18 credits were less work. In fact, they could have been more work. I'm not sure what your major is or which courses you're taking, but I can assure you that anything more than 16-17 credits (4 courses) in my major would be extremely difficult. It's not fair to tell him that he shouldn't be having much trouble without knowing his major and courses.
he listed his courses in the op...
 
Well played sir. I can't say I was too attentive when reading the posts and replies.
i also gave a more substantive reply a couple posts above. I occasionally am overaggressive without realizing it, and only on reflection do i realize i may have appeared potentially unwelcoming
 
Stay up later, maybe sacrifice some ZZZ if you have to. I'm also taking 18 credits -- last night I only got 3 hours of sleep. Sunday night I only got 4. But then again, I tend to procrastinate a lot. It really shouldn't be too hard to get a few A's and B's if that's what you're shooting for. I'm gunning for a 4.0 this semester, I can't afford any B's before I get to organic.

Have you tried maybe cutting back on your EC's? Unless you really enjoy them, obviously. But if you don't, cut back on those and give yourself some more free time or study time.

losing sleep isn't exactly the best way to combat burnout. Try time management :p
 
i also gave a more substantive reply a couple posts above. I occasionally am overaggressive without realizing it, and only on reflection do i realize i may have appeared potentially unwelcoming

I see it now. I understand what you mean though, as I can be the same way. I like your sig... :p Brings me back to AP English
 
If some people think 18-21 credits plus substantial EC's is easy then either A) their school is a joke or B) 4-5 out of 6 classes are a joke (4 music history classes + pottery?)or C) they are just one of those very rare cases. You need to drop down to 15 and take time for yourself. Exercise and low stress are key to memory retention and overall good health. My first year at Vandy I did no EC's/non-academic anything, and sat around studying all semester. I sucked and so did my grades (I was too preoccupied with the increased level of difficulty). I got sick half the time and was not enjoying myself. The third semester I took a much heavier load but did a bunch of EC's, went the gym for an hour or two 3x a week, played piano to relax, watched a few TV shows during study breaks, etc., and my GPA went up 0.3. You have to give yourself strategic breaks. I'm not saying play COD all day, but why not study a few hours and play for 30 mins before returning to your books? There's no use going to med school if you end up with tin foil on your head ranting about alien radio signals because you destroyed all rational functioning you had left up there.
 
Soccer = 3 hours a week (Friday's *once in a blue moon Saturday's)
Organ practice = 2 hours a week (Saturday's)
Bible study = 1 hour a week (Thursdays
Gym = 12 hours a week (2 hours 6 days | Mon, Tue, Wed, Thurs, Sat, Sun)
------------------------------------------
~18 hours of non-school related stress release activities a week.

Okay, you have issues. First and foremost, don't shoot for a 3.8+, always get a 4.0. The only reason you should get a B is when your professor catches you doing his wife and rounds your 99% to an 85. Seriously, don't take classes and feel comfortable with B's unless you also feel comfortable with pharmacy or dental school.

Also, your "stress release" sounds more like stress inducing. Soccer? You picked the most boring sport in the entire world? No wonder you're falling asleep all the time. Take on a fun sport that people actually care about like basketball (make sure it's an intramural, so you can put it on your resume).

Organ practice? I wish this meant practicing surgery on organs or something, but from the general tone of your posts/life, I'm going to assume it's the lame tubes that you blow into. How can you call this stress relief? Whenever I hear those annoying sounds I'm nearly lulled into depression and suicidal thoughts.

Bible study? How on earth (or in heaven) is this stress relief? If you're reading the same bible that I used to be force fed and enjoying it then I'm going to assume you're a masochist. I don't know about you, but the last time I read about how I'm living a crap terrible excuse for a life, I didn't feel good. You know what I do on Sundays in the morning? I'm not going to church, I'm doing something productive with my life, studying (not really, I'm usually masturbating or sleeping at that time).

Gym for 2 hours a day? You're either completely shredded ripped or you're not doing something right. Should not spend that much time in the gym unless you are hitting on girls.

Also, why are you getting a music minor? That is completely pointless. Do you want to be a doctor or a rockstar - both get their d's essed, it's just way easier to be a doctor. Just finish the prereqs and graduate. Don't take any more classes than you have to. Plan out your whole schedule until senior year and you'll probably find that you don't need to take that many classes. Don't stop partying or stop hanging out with friends. Just make time for everything - quit wasting time complaining on internet forums.
 
hey, OP.
freshman year is stressful, but you'll make it through. here are my two biggest hints:

1) get a tutor (many schools offer them free). 10 minutes with someone explaining a concept can equal 10 hours of banging your head on the book and wikipedia-ing the topic out of desperation.
2) one thing at a time. keep a good calendar on your computer that says what assignments/tests are due when. structure your hard work in such a way that you can focus on one goal at a time. it feels a lot more rewarding.

both of these hints were given elsewhere on this thread, but hidden away in different posts, and i think that they're the most valuable. good luck!
 
Okay, you have issues. First and foremost, don't shoot for a 3.8+, always get a 4.0. The only reason you should get a B is when your professor catches you doing his wife and rounds your 99% to an 85. Seriously, don't take classes and feel comfortable with B's unless you also feel comfortable with pharmacy or dental school.

Also, your "stress release" sounds more like stress inducing. Soccer? You picked the most boring sport in the entire world? No wonder you're falling asleep all the time. Take on a fun sport that people actually care about like basketball (make sure it's an intramural, so you can put it on your resume).

Organ practice? I wish this meant practicing surgery on organs or something, but from the general tone of your posts/life, I'm going to assume it's the lame tubes that you blow into. How can you call this stress relief? Whenever I hear those annoying sounds I'm nearly lulled into depression and suicidal thoughts.

Bible study? How on earth (or in heaven) is this stress relief? If you're reading the same bible that I used to be force fed and enjoying it then I'm going to assume you're a masochist. I don't know about you, but the last time I read about how I'm living a crap terrible excuse for a life, I didn't feel good. You know what I do on Sundays in the morning? I'm not going to church, I'm doing something productive with my life, studying (not really, I'm usually masturbating or sleeping at that time).

Gym for 2 hours a day? You're either completely shredded ripped or you're not doing something right. Should not spend that much time in the gym unless you are hitting on girls.

Also, why are you getting a music minor? That is completely pointless. Do you want to be a doctor or a rockstar - both get their d's essed, it's just way easier to be a doctor. Just finish the prereqs and graduate. Don't take any more classes than you have to. Plan out your whole schedule until senior year and you'll probably find that you don't need to take that many classes. Don't stop partying or stop hanging out with friends. Just make time for everything - quit wasting time complaining on internet forums.

I'm honestly not sure if you're serious, or just entertaining yourself.
 
I'm honestly not sure if you're serious, or just entertaining yourself.

I think the first sentence gives it away. ;)

@OP, drop a course and salvage your gpa. Find a comfort zone within your scheduling ( I.e like figuring out that 15 credits a semester maximizes grades and EC time) and try to stay in it. If that means having to spend another semester in school, well then so be it. Because getting low grades because you over did yourself with your course-load will mean having to spend even more time trying to desperately raise your gpa to competitive levels.
 
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I define burnout as anything that causes feelings of "what's the point" leading to apathy and a sense of hopelessness.

I burned out a while back. I realized that it came down to knowing what I REALLY want in life - answering that eternal nagging question about meaning and purpose. For me, burn out was when I forgot why I was doing what I was doing. I had started out with a purpose in mind, but somewhere along the way after working for that purpose, I had forgotten what it was.

In your case, burnout could also be because you've lost faith in yourself. The feelings of "what's the point" might not be because you've lost the grounded purpose, but because you don't think your efforts are worth the effort. If that's the case, you need to address this issue and find a way to convince yourself that it IS worth the effort.

Ultimately, motivation should come from knowing yourself well, and knowing what your goals are, and why you want to achieve them. I found my way out of burn out by understanding myself - and my weaknesses - better.

It was figuring out that there's more to life than my goals, there's more to who I am and how I see myself. Figuring out what's important to me. Learning to believe in my strengths. This all sounds kind of emo, but I think they're important issues to think through. Now I take a little time out of my morning every morning to pray and reflect on my life, to stay grounded in faith and confidence and set my mind on positive things. I think that has made all the difference.

This is a good blog for philosophy on success + motivation: http://calnewport.com/blog/

In any case, don't let your past failures discourage you. One thing that kept me going was knowing sometimes failure comes before success, and we are all failures, to a certain extent, before we succeed. John Wooden said "the person who wins is the one who makes the most mistakes." The more we do, the more mistakes we will make, the key is finding a way to capitalize on those mistakes and make the most of their strengths. Sometimes the first thing is finding out what those strengths are.

Burnout runs deep. Take some time to reflect, and take care of yourself. Sometimes it takes a lot of growing and self-understanding to really address the issues that burnout is a symptom of.
 
I think the first sentence gives it away. ;)

@OP, drop a course and salvage your gpa. Find a comfort zone within your scheduling ( I.e like figuring out that 15 credits a semester maximizes grades and EC time) and try to stay in it. If that means having to spend another semester in school, well then so be it. Because getting low grades because you over did yourself with your course-load will mean having to spend even more time trying to desperately raise your gpa to competitive levels.

This. Why do people have this fabricated deadline of finishing college? If your goal is med school, take your time to insure your acceptance. All it takes is one burnout semi/quarter to destroy your chances.
 
You really need to evaluate your priorities. I took 18 credit hours both semesters of my freshman year. I remember I barely had any free time, and I was very concerned to see all the things you're doing besides studying. When you have such a heavy course load, you really should sacrifice everything else. I also took honors gen chem and gen physics (the engineering version..which is way harder). The most important thing is to figure out how many hours a day you spend on studying and to maximize that time. Literally keep track of the number of hours and you'll be surprised how little it is. Also, use the library!!..especially if you live in dorms.

And I do think you're doing a lot of unnecessary things in the name of stress-relief. You just need to be mentally be strong and look forward to the end of the semester. I pretty much had no life my freshman year, but now my life is awesome. I graduated early with a 3.9+ and I have 4 acceptances. So, realize that this will be your low point, and your high point will be better than you can imagine!

Lastly..stop wasting time online!!!!
 
Stay up later, maybe sacrifice some ZZZ if you have to. I'm also taking 18 credits -- last night I only got 3 hours of sleep. Sunday night I only got 4.
My final semester of undergrad (before Post-bacc) I took 21 credit hours, was a TA, had a job for 12 hours a week for a little extra cash, went to the gym 4-5 times a week and wrote my thesis, so I know what busy entails.
i did 21 units last quarter, and honestly...
yeah, it's not that bad.
Right now, I have a 4.0 GPA, and I've had it since my feshman year...that's 5 semesters of straight A's, and this upcoming semester looks promising too.
you are taking 18, man i am taking 21 and i still got time to watch house MD
You really need to evaluate your priorities. I took 18 credit hours both semesters of my freshman year. I remember I barely had any free time, and I was very concerned to see all the things you're doing besides studying. When you have such a heavy course load, you really should sacrifice everything else.

but now my life is awesome. I graduated early with a 3.9+ and I have 4 acceptances.
Congratulations to all you hard workers. We are all thoroughly impressed with your incredible achievements. :thumbup:

This. Why do people have this fabricated deadline of finishing college? If your goal is med school, take your time to insure your acceptance. All it takes is one burnout semi/quarter to destroy your chances.
Take time just to smell the roses. Life comes at you fast. From my perspective, high school, college, and med school all just flew by. Residency is intense, but I'm already 2/3 of the way through my intern year. Breathe. Sleep.


Chamahk - drop a class. Slow down. Take things easy. You do need to get almost all A's. If you can run the race at full speed, that's great, but it's much more important to finish this race than it is to run at full speed for part of it.

Do the extracurriculars that you WANT to do, but don't get carried away with doing everything. If you can do it, great. I certainly loaded my plate up a few times by taking as many as 21 credits in a semester and got a 3.8 or so, but it was actually quite hard, and I took a 13 credit semester after that (Spanish, choir, organic chem 2 with lab, and research for credit - it was an easy semester).
 
Congratulations to all you hard workers. We are all thoroughly impressed with your incredible achievements. :thumbup:
Our objective wasn't to impress e-personas on the internetz, it was to show that it's possible to pull off. Lots of people do it. It's not that hard to do. Really. It's not.
 
I have found that by now incorporate being active into my study regime, I am a lot less burned out. May sound like an obvious answer but it's one a lot of people take for granted.
 
Our objective wasn't to impress e-personas on the internetz, it was to show that it's possible to pull off. Lots of people do it. It's not that hard to do. Really. It's not.
That's great. I've done it too, as well as med school and residency. I know how it's done. There are threads in which people want to know what's the most they can handle, and it's appropriate to say how much you've done and still survived. When someone is looking for help to avoid burnout, pointing out that he could do even more and sleep even less is pretty stupid.

I disagree that it's not that hard to do. Getting into med school is one of the most academically challenging endeavors out there. People who make off-the-cuff comments about how anyone can do it either have a loose grip on reality or their memories are softened by hindsight.
 
Getting into med school is one of the most academically challenging endeavors out there. People who make off-the-cuff comments about how anyone can do it either have a loose grip on reality or their memories are softened by hindsight.

You're assuming they actually believe what they're saying. I'm sure some of them do but for others it's just another way of bragging. They're so good they don't even realize what they're doing is hard, don't you see?

Don't get me wrong, there are times when I would probably do the same thing. Let's say Meghan Fox walks out of my bedroom and passes through a by a few of my friends on her way out the door. When they finally pick their jaws up off the floor and start grilling me for answers am I going to say "OMG I still can't believe it either!!!"? No, of course not, I'm going to say "Oh, Meg? Yeah she's a cool chick. So what are y'all up to tonight?" However it's a stupid thing to do on the internet, a rude thing to do to a stranger, and an incredibly rude thing to do to a stranger looking for help.
 
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