How to Deal with Burnout During COVID, from a College Student

Even the brightest stars burn out.

If you’re a fellow college student muddling through online classes and essentially teaching yourself, I’m sorry. It sucks. We are no strangers to being broke, but it’s hard to not get at least a little salty when we’ve been left out from a lot of the COVID relief funds (looking at you, stimulus check!). As a bonus, we end up mostly teaching ourselves. Sometimes all we’re paying for is a lesson plan, and the help from a professor who *might* get back to us three days later.

This semester, I’ve been determined to make the most of it. Don’t get me wrong, I still have to spend way more time than should be necessary to teach myself the material. But I’m making it work (somehow).

• Strategy #1: Set a separate work from the rest of the house. This is an idea that is pervasive in many “How to work from home during COVID”-style articles. You might even be tired of seeing it, but it’s pervasive because it works.

Last semester, my desk was facing the same wall my bed was touching. But before the start of this semester, I finally gave in and moved my desk into its own separate alcove facing away from my bed. I put it off for a while because I didn’t think it would make much of a difference, but WOW, it really did.

Though I do most of my work in this little desk space, it does get old sometimes! When this happens, I will usually migrate to the kitchen table or another room where I can close the door. Though eventually, I always come crawling back.

• Strategy #2: If it feels impossible to get started on something, set a timer for an amount of time that feels reasonable to you (say, 20 minutes), and only work on something for that long. If you feel you need a break after getting started, set a 5-15 minute timer for a break and then repeat. There are many ways to do this, but I like this article on the Pomodoro Technique because it outlines time intervals specific to the type of task.

I will be honest, this doesn’t always work for me. However, it’s often useful in at least overcoming that first hurdle of getting started. Sometimes I will keep working after the timer goes off because I’m in the right headspace, but other times I will take the break. And that’s okay!

• Strategy #3: Set limits to worktimes, and give yourself designated free time. I know it seems impossible, but take a couple days off per week, trust me.

This has, by far, been the most helpful method. I’d started this strategy before even reading about it, although Angela Fowler has a great article on the general idea. I’d figured out that if I pushed too much for too long, I started becoming very unproductive with my time. I would spend days where I didn’t get a lot of homework done, but I also didn’t get a lot of mental rest either. I would scroll through Instagram, YouTube, or even the news just to avoid starting on anything. Sound familiar?

This semester, I try to finish my work during the week so that I can leave my weekends homework-free. And let me tell you, it’s helped tons. In fact, I would even advise skipping a reading or two (so long as they aren’t that important) just to get ahead of the game, if necessary. It’s helped my productivity that much.

• Strategy #4: Be kind to yourself! Don’t aim to complete every single reading or assignment. Cut out what you can. Celebrate what you did accomplish, rather than focusing on what you didn’t. Allow yourself to have fun! Cook a good meal, light a candle, go on a road trip with a friend or sibling. Do whatever reminds you that life can still be good.

With everything going on, grades are going to slip. Although not all colleges seem to have gotten the message, Harvard seems to understand! The prestigious school is once again offering a pass/fail option for the spring 2021 semester.

After all, we are doing the best we can with a system that’s not really working for us right now. We are (mostly) teaching ourselves college-level courses in the middle of a pandemic. That deserves some admiration!