Being a student comes with layer after layer of commitment. Classes, labs, extracurriculars, family, social obligations, and, for many, part or full-time work. Whether juggling a heavy courseload or trying to make ends meet, just about every aspect of life contributes to a mental and physical fatigue that can’t be easily ignored.
Burnout’s a hell of a thing. It’s easy to forget to dedicate time to rest, recuperate, or balance work-life without suffering some sense of guilt. You can try to offset it by losing out on sleep, abusing caffeine, or letting commitments slip, but no amount of replacing English lit readings with 2x speed audiobooks, or sleeping in two separate three-hour naps will make up for the inevitable, prophecy-foretold crash that is to follow.
It sneaks up on you, and can even take years to recover from. But what really is the difference between general exhaustion, being temporarily overworked and stressed, versus true, bonafide, 100 per cent gluten free Burnout™?
Well, let me offer up some insight into my own schedule as something of a case study:
Three jobs McGee over here (yours truly) has a lot on their plate. Between trying to keep a business afloat, picking up seasonal work in shipping and receiving, and editing for The Cascade, it’s a miracle I still manage to burden myself with more responsibilities. But how else do you uphold the necessary pillars of a “fulfilling” life? The aforementioned jobs fill different niches in turn: transforming passion into career, paying rent, trying to engage in and contribute to the community. Beyond that, attempts to maintain a social life have me desperately trying to make friends with my co-workers, attending events regularly, and steadily declining into a sleepless fugue state only justified by “yeah, I can probably write an article about this.” Not to mention trying to keep up with creative pursuits, which I certainly wouldn’t be able to do without a feeling of obligation and dread. So here I am running a writing club — pro bono — for my fellow, equally spread-thin peers.
What is the cost of success if not the mind, body, and spirit, all packaged in a neat, tidy, holiday season, 3-for-1 package deal? But hey, it’ll all probably look good on a resume or a grad school application.
Even putting things off and making time in your schedule for fun is concealed under all kinds of priority jenga — rearranging to-dos, productive procrastination, and failed attempts to multitask. I think signs of my own currently overburdened state were first evident when class readings and due dates began to feel more like suggestions, with the usual stressful necessity being slowly replaced by a sense of optionality. Yes, correct, I have elected the way of pain and am also a part-time student studying British Romanticism this semester.
How about we romanticize a fucking nap, huh?
I digress, enough about me, my intentions were to convey this as more than a rant. It’s hard, for everyone, but especially young professionals teetering between unmet expectations and a vapid desire to prove oneself. Everyone gets tired of work, and keeping up with all the life upkeep you’re supposed to keep in mind, like health, fitness, and hygiene. I truly don’t think anyone gets a handle on it all without suffering a bout or two of heavily regretting their choices. Such strain isn’t always voluntary, and for many there’s no choice and the consequences take their toll.
I don’t really think I’m quite at full burnout yet. Still more or less functional. But, that’s the thing: look at just how easy it is to fall into habits and cycles that promote exhaustion, and the slippery slope of it all leading to a crash that won’t be so kind as to give you the choice to rest, but rather will demand you to slow down by force.
So, until some commitments end, or until my body fails me, the knowledge of a slowly impending doom sits relatively ignored, an omen looming at the edges of every cup of coffee and open tab. This is a PSA for both me and you to keep a weather eye on your energy, your schedule, and to try and be kinder to both.
