#im like two weeks ahead..and then tomorrow i can start thinking about the essays due next month…and maybe also go to a party : ^ ))

[steelycunt]

almost got washed away walking home in the heavy rain with no raincoat BUT. home now…time 2 get in warm clothes and have some tea and watch the new episode of taskmaster happy fucking friday..

[barbiebanker]

hello, hopefully you're doing well, but i was wondering: how do you not get burnt out? i have 3 upcoming quizzes this week, 2 projects and some essays due v soon that the stress overwhelms me a bit. im usually someone who can force themselves to hyper focus but honestly just wanted some help getting over the burn out and to keep going. ty in advance :)

hi!!! i think i recognize ur username from my old blog, but i can't be sure! after hearing your schedule, i hope you're doing well too! here are some things i've had to find out (usually the hard way) about avoiding burnout (+lots of tips of how i personally try to get over bad procrastination habits)

(fair warning: it's 12:23 am where im at rn and i took a tiny break to answer this, so if i seem all over the place, sorry!!!)

(edit: SO SORRY FOR THE LATE REPLY. i've been a very busy bee over the past couple of days BAHAHA)

break down your to do list! imagine you open up your planner or your checklist and you see so many assignments and due dates screaming at you. that sounds pretty stressful, right? what i personally like to do is just compartmentalize my tasks/break down my overall schedule or day into tiny, very do-able, less frightening bits and pieces. for some odd reason, my brain thinks breaking up one big assignment into various easy to do tasks makes it seem more manageable. it doesn't really help for quizzes, but for projects or some essays, here's what i would do:

i hope it makes some slight sense! for me, rather than viewing it as "omg i have a big ass essay to complete", it's much more manageable to think to myself "ok, let me just work on the intro first." in my silly little head, if i can just do the intro and get started/get one task done, then it's easier for me to get into a good groove. im feeling productive and happy with myself because yay, i finished a task! ALSO, im sure you already know this, but i highly, highly recommend you outline every essay and plan out your projects/presentations before you start jumping in. no matter how bare bones the outline seems, even merely jotting down a vague idea or a tiny note will help you establish a good enough starting point/provide you with something to go off of is incredibly beneficial. i cannot stress that enough.

the best way to not fall behind is to always try to stay ahead (don't procrastinate!!!) this is easier said than done. it also depends on your sense of urgency, haha. for many people, if it's not due today, then it can be saved for a later date. for my schedule, for example, i don't necessarily have that luxury. i could save my assignments til the day they're due or even the day before they are due, but that would cause an unnecessary amount of stress onto me because every single business prof at my university is notorious for making their stuff due on sundays. (i'll actually be posting my outlook calendar/planner pretty soon to explain my planning system!)

one trick that i don't necessarily recommend because it might end up tripping you up (which is the last thing i want to happen) is to just write in your planner or calendar that something is due a day or two before it actually is. for example, saying that your essay is due on the 25th when in all actuality, it's due on the 27th. either you'll end up getting your due dates screwed up or you'll just think to yourself "nah i know im playing mind games with myself, it's not actually due til later" so then there's no sense of urgency.

another trick is to remember that there is still some urgency even if something isn't necessarily due until later. judging from your schedule, you've got quite a bit on your plate as well. i don't want to send you into a panic, but the more you put off or refuse to work on something, the less time you'll have in the future to actually work on it. "i can do this tomorrow", "i'll do it in a couple hours", "i can come back to this later". chances are, if you're saying this, you need to remind yourself that you've most likely already used that excuse yesterday or the day before. if you feel like you can handle it mentally and physically (e.g. not tired), i would recommend that if you catch yourself making that statement, immediately spend a minimum of 20 mins working on the very task you were trying to avoid. and i mean actively working on it, not just opening your laptop and doing the absolute bare minimum. you'll probably hate it, you'll probably think that you can't wait for the 20 mins to be over, but if you actually do substantial work during that time, there's a little less burden and less stress for the future you. do future you a favor and at least work a little bit. also, after the 20 mins are up, consider this: is your workload at least somewhat lighter? you did something productive, so pat yourself on the back — you deserve a reward. also, you already did a little work now... why not spend another 10 mins on it?

look at how you're spending your time. goes a bit with the last bullet point. try to track the amount of time you do productive work (things you have to do, such as chores, at your job, studying, working on your assignments) versus recreational activities (watching tv, even reading a book for fun, social media). im not saying your life has to be centered all around work; i'd be a hypocrite to say that. im just saying that if you don't work now, you'll be working harder in the future to try to pick up the slack.

this isn't meant to guilt trip you or anything like that, but seriously monitor your time. i like to go on google and use the stopwatch there to track the amount of time i'm actually studying and working on the things i need to. then in my planner, i write how many hours i spent that week "being productive". there are 168 hours in a week — 10% of that is 16.8 or roughly 17 hours. 17 hours of studying seems so boring, but in the grand scheme of things, you can spend literally 90% of your time doing anything else. imagine that: studying 17 hrs a week is only 2 1/2 hrs a day. you could watch a movie or two episodes of a show in that time span, easily. or, you could use that time to actually make a dent in your to-do list. it's important to remember that you are the person in charge of how you spend your time. i'm not trying to sound unsympathetic, because people have a lot on their plates between work or taking care of someone else, so you might not have a straight 2 1/2 hours to dedicate to studying. but chances are, there's going to be a time where you can choose freely what you want to do: something fun or an assignment. if you're reaching a point where the due dates are coming closer, i would say make an attempt to choose the assignment.

reward system! first off, please don't take this as a sign to deprive yourself of essentials. a reward is something you don't really need but really want. don't say "im not going to shower until this essay is done". that's not what im recommending at all!!

if you're like me, you might like shopping. or, you might like a specific candy or snack (please also do not use "i can't eat dinner til i finish this" as a method to force yourself to finish your work!!). maybe you have a favorite tv show that comes out with a new episode every sunday (cough, me with euphoria at the moment). here's the thing: why are you indulging in nonessential items + activities whenever you currently have a list of shit to do? "i'll work on my essay after i finish watching this episode!" im sorry, do people get paid before or after they started working their shifts? because if you give yourself the reward with no work, what is motivating you to complete the work?

use this method sparingly and responsibly!

think big picture!!! i have two whiteboards in my room, both of them hanging right by my desk. the first one, im able to stare at straight ahead of me. it's a message i wrote before my superday that congratulated me on getting the internship at the BB bank i wanted to be at so badly. i wrote this before i even knew i got accepted. after that happened, i added a footnote to it; it's me congratulating myself on securing a full-time offer. it sounds obsessive, but my custom safari homepage is a thumbnail of the bank i'll specifically be at with a quote.

the point of that paragraph is to emphasize that i've purposely surrounded myself with words of encouragement/congratulations and images of where i want to be in the future. i can't avoid it. when im at my desk, thinking i want to put off doing this assignment because it's boring or because im apparently too "tired" for it (yet i can easily get into bed and scroll mindlessly on tiktok for an hour), i can look up at my board or even open up a new tab and see specifically what all this work is for. i'm certain you have big goals of your own, or even small, short-term ones.

let those be both a reminder and a motivator for you when it comes to you asking why should you even bother with these assignments.

find meaning in the work you're doing. i actually enjoy a decent portion of my coursework, even the ones not directly related to my major. always keep an open mind with all your classes; if it's required, chances are there's something about it that can be relevant to improving your overall quality of life or even just helping you develop as a person and give you a new perspective in certain topics.

it's easier to do things and justify doing them whenever they stop being "this lame essay i have to write" and is instead something you consider an opportunity to research something that you've never really knew anything about. even if you hate it, take some time and effort to really get to study the material you're "forced" to work with or learn about. you never know when you may need it; maybe an interviewer in your future has some interest in a niche topic you had to write a paper about.

take breaks!! i sound and seem like a workaholic, i bet. truth be told, im not. some days are going to be a lot harder than others.

it's okay to take a break. it's okay to not follow any of that advice whenever you feel like absolute shit. the fact of the matter is if you're not taking proper care of yourself, you're not going to be taking proper care in the actions you do. as far as schooling goes, anything is better than a zero. in the working world, putting out terrible, half-assed work is bound to get you fired or at least looked down upon.

it's very easy to say "always give everything 110%!!!". absolutely no one is surprised whenever it's hard to give 50% on the really bad days.

know your limits! let me start (what i think to be the most important piece of advice when it comes to avoiding burnout) that i myself had to be told by my prof (bless his heart, he still gets anxious over my schedule more than i do HAHA) and that is “we only have 24 hours in a day; most of us need 30, and we spend several sleeping. it’s hard to be successful if you don’t allow yourself the time to try.”

the fact of the matter is that i work my regular job 3x a week, i currently have a spring internship that i spend the other 3 days a week at, went over the allowed # of college courses someone gets to take (+ these are all upper level courses) and i have family obligations & the need to relax and spend time on myself. it gets difficult (this week proof of that) to juggle all these responsibilities and spend a sufficient amount of time to appropriately apply myself to each task i do. for me, though, im a firm believer in competing with myself. the me from laster semester was already struggling with less responsibilities but i am constantly wanting to be better. i know that for me, it’s a very “do-or-die” situation. i refuse to fail any class, i refuse to get less than what ii expect from myself, i refuse to allow myself to fall behind, and i don’t want to tap out — i want it all; i can’t fathom not doing all of this or having to drop my job or the internship or a class. i know myself & i know that i’ll manage to handle all of this. however, don’t be unrealistic with yourself. set a standard. know that some days you will not want to work at all & that’s okay, but know that it’s equally important to go the extra mile on the days that you are able to work hard. don’t make an impossible schedule that you KNOW will be too overwhelming. don’t put unnecessary strain on yourself if you know you’re prone to burning out. 

it’s better to do only a couple of things, take a couple of classes, etc. if you’re able to apply yourself fully and truly succeed in whatever you do rather than take on a million things and be mediocre or struggle to stay afloat. 

[firereine-blog]

so this was supposed to have been a thank you for 100 followers, but it’s a bit late haha i’ve been procrastinating. i hope this masterpost will give you a bit of insight into how i study as well giving you ideas for your own planning. i know the title slide is pretty simple and boring but i needed to post this before i procrastinate again, so it’ll just stay like this for now. either way, here’s the masterpost (thanks again everyone!!):

Suggestions for In Class:

Listen to the teacher, even if the lectures are boring. Often my teachers give long, unexciting lectures, but it’s important to know what the teacher thinks is crucial within a textbook reading. Sometimes he or she will even give hints or suggestions about what might be on the test.

Some days we all feel sick of listening to the teacher. In this case, I would suggest 1) taking an audio recording (if allowed) and then listening later or 2) borrowing notes from a friend (but rewrite them for yourself, and then reread the textbook in case)

Take advantage of worktime given to you. (This is probably more applicable to us who are in middle or high school.) If a teacher gives you a period to study, or to work on a project, use it. Just because some other people don’t work doesn’t mean that you can’t get ahead on tonight’s textbook reading, or finish the project that’s due tomorrow.

Make a study plan for a test. If the teacher hands out a syllabus and reads it over, you can make little notes that notate (notes that notate gosh im good at this) the first impressions you have of a topic. Sometimes these impressions can make a huge difference into how you will be studying for a test later.

Out of Class:

For Good Days (starting from when you get home. It targets those of us who go to school during the day and then come back home for the afternoon, but I hope everyone can get something from this):

Eat something quickly and don’t take out your phone or laptop or book or whatever. It’s not good to get distracted this quickly.

Find a study space you’re going to dedicate yourself to. It’s ok to change day by day, but changing locations every hour is not going to settle your study attitude.

Take out your planner. If you don’t have a planner or bullet journal, it might be a good idea to start one (it depends). Mark tasks in their priority and then on how quickly you can get them done. I’d suggest starting with one or two short tasks, then getting to one long one that’s high priority, then doing another couple short tasks, etc.

Between those one or two short tasks and the long task, take a break. If you’ve been using your laptop constantly, walk around a bit, look at some scenery, or stretch. If you’ve been on paper, maybe take out your phone and check social media. Either way, set a timer for 10 minutes so you don’t get dragged away for too long. (note that depending on the workload, 10 minutes may become 5 minutes which may become 1 minute)

Eat your meals. Like seriously. Eat your meals, take your showers, brush your teeth. Personal hygiene is something you want to maintain if you want to feel good about yourself. Forget everyone else.

If you can fit it into your schedule, exercise is also good. I have extracurricular activities that force me to get out and work, but if you tend to stay at home, at the library, or wherever, try to find a time where you can go and walk or run.

When you’ve accomplished something major, check it off. At the end of the day, go back to your planner and make sure you’ve really finished everything. Draw happy faces all over a sheet of scratch paper until happiness is floating in the room. You’ve made it through another day!

For Bad Days (because we all have them):

Come home, take a shower, and eat something nice. Maybe lie on your bed and take a nap for an hour. Listen to music. Whatever works to chill. You deserve some time to yourself.

It’s best if you get something done every day, even if it’s the littlest thing. When I don’t want to dedicate myself to a lengthy essay – so long as it’s not due the next day – I do activities like:

Making flashcards for vocabulary. Short ones. I tend not to like flashcards with lots of text, because then I prefer just writing up notes.

Studying the language that you’re learning (if you’re learning a language, and why not?). Most days I don’t get the chance to dedicatedly review my notes, so just rereading class notes or finding a short story to read in that language can help to keep up with comprehension.

Planning. Like planning my next day, planning my week, planning my month, or planning my year. Whatever it is I feel like planning. Or reorganizing my desk. Sometimes changing the look of things or taking a step back to think about your situation helps calm you down.

Reading a book. Especially if it’s a nonfiction book – but not a textbook – or something along the lines of historical fiction. These will improve your literacy comprehension and help give insight into a specific topic. For example, if I’m studying American History in my history class, I’ll check out fiction books relating to the topic and get a lot of insight into the era.

But most of all, take care of yourself. If you’ve had a bad day at school, something huge has happened to your social life, you’re drowning in a sea of assignments… remember that we’ve all been there. Put your health above everything else. Please. <3

During Transition Times (e.g. on the bus, in the car, waiting in a line, etc.):

Practice those flashcards you made. Carry them in your pocket, everywhere, and when you’re on the bus and think, “if only I had those flashcards,” they’ll be right there.

Listen to a recording of yourself talking about whatever you’re studying. This works especially well if you’re an auditory learner – you can record yourself reading the textbook aloud, so you don’t skip words, and then come back to your recording to understand better.

You can also record reviews or presentations that you will need later to immerse yourself.

Flip through note pages. I don’t do this much, since I get carsick or bus-sick easily, but some people can get through pages and pages of a textbook while on the bus and feel nothing at all. *envy*

Drink a good drink. Like Starbucks. This has nothing to do with studying, but transition times are also great for taking a step back from studies and spending fifteen minutes with yourself and whatever (or whomever!) else you want to spend it with.

again, hope this helps, thank you all, and happy late new year!

[mystery-snail]

hello it’s time for Whine Time ™ (kind of private maybe dont read, its just me bitching about some stuff but if you have dealt with the gross/ugly sides of depression or anxiety and you genuinely feel you have advice that might help go ahead. but i promise this isn’t anything juicy or interesting, it just felt good to vent while i waited for my homework to upload)

so ive been having some shitty fallouts after i came home and returned to school after surgery. i had tried to plan ahead (i did all my homework ahead of time, made sure i stayed in touch with teachers, got extensions, etc). but the recovery was a whole week more than it was supposed to be and i spent that week lazing around and playing games when i could have been catching up

ive been so freaked out about everything that ive completely fallen off the radar. i feel like im faking all of this and everyones going to find out that im not smart or organized or happy when they see me fail. im supposed to graduate in may and my mom wants to have a party, and she said she’d do all the planning, but every ten minutes is an email or a text demanding i drop everything and help. i tried saying i cant and she didnt even adknowledge it. i have so many projects due and appointments with doctors and i have already made a commitment to return to work tomorrow. i cant leave work again (i was gone for 2 weeks and theyre slammed, understaffed, its only a 2 hour shift etc)

my life has fallen apart and im doing stuff ive never done when im depressed. my room is full of food garbage and its starting to smell. my bed is covered in clothes but i dont even know whats clean or dirty. i dont sleep because i get so anxious and guilty that im not doing homework or working on something. my floor is a mess and i cant even make myself take care of my body. i havent brushed my hair in almost 3 days. i wear the same jeans, hoodie, and shoes every day because i cant take time to care. i cant even eat. i have been drinking meal replacement shakes and eating toast. sometimes i can eat small things or soft things, like nuts and jello. my body feels terrible but taking time to cook or even sit down and eat feels like im being lazy

my boyfriend says to just chill out and everything will be okay. but if i relax i feel worse - chilling out wont help. ill be so freaked out the whole time that i wont actually be relaxing or taking a break, just laying still and mentally planning all the ways i can cram all my obligations into my long day. i do it every night until i fall asleep, if i even manage to. then im so tired the next day that im afraid people will notice im not happy or confident or put together like they all say i am, and im gonna let them all down and make them all mad when they find out im not good at anything at all

i dont even know where to start. cleaning my room takes time i could spend on homework. eating takes too much time also, and i dont even feel hungry anyway. my stomach hurts but i dont care enough to pay attention and eventually it goes away. my homework isnt stuff i can bang out in quick succession, but ive been trying. i do a response during my break instead of eating. i read when i walk between classes. i stay up late until i cant think right and then when i try to sleep i just cant relax, so i stay up later and try to get progress done. 

i feel like i set myself up months ago with all these obligations and now im just being torn in every direction by all the expectations around me. 2 semester-long projects due in a few weeks. one semester long paper, and the next section is due tuesday. a semester long 2 day lesson plan that must be completed in extreme detail, due soon. two group projects coming up, but none of us have talked about anything, read anything, or even contacted each other. i had a group teach tonight - i had to make the whole lesson plan (and we were still late to turn it in) all night last night and didnt sleep until 5 something, and then woke up at 630 cause my mom texted me with party stuff again. now i have weekly essays to do, weekly responses, weekly online posts (and now those arne’t just single posts, they’re groups of 11 threads i have to watch videos in, analyze, and respond to. this week it took 6 hours to do them all and i have to do it all again next week). i have to read all of a book on teaching ethic so i can present that in ANOTHER group project in a few weeks. I have to distribute my big fiction piece tomorrow and i already printed it (13 copies, 300 pages total) but i realized i forgot to update it with a title and cant spare the time before class to print new first pages, so i have to stay up tonight and annotate the actual title, cross out the untitled label, and then sit through the critique on monday when everyone says it was unprofressional i didnt have a title and i get marked down

ive missed so much class and work and i can say no to anyone. i feel guilty for everything and i recognize im falling apart and this isnt okay but i cant ask for help, i dont want to, i cant make it happen. i feel like i dont deserve anything and i did this to myself, i chose this. its all gonna fall apart and im the only one to blame.

i dont even know where to start in getting control back. ive never had this kind of breakdown before. everyone keeps saying ‘oh well you had major surgery you have to relax and take it slow’ but they dont understand. they feel bad for me cause they think im someone who deserves a break, but i got 2 weeks to be lazy and do nothing. they all think im on top of everything and that i can manage more time off, but i cant. i cant just step away because if i do i fail everything. i got all A’s last semester and now everyone expects me to do it again, but ill be lucky to graduate. i have a’s right now but its all gonna fall apart soon. stuff is falling through the cracks and im trying to compensate by ignoring other stuff, like food and sleep. but im so afraid ill fumble and lose something more important and ill fail a class and not graduate. i already forgot my advising appointment yesterday because im fucking stupid and was distracted with playing on tumblr between classes

i just cant get the control back. i deserve this and i dont know how to fix it. its my fault and i have to deal with it all

my depression doesnt manifest like this. its always binge-eating and changing my life positively to fight back. but i cant fight this time. i cant eat and i cant sleep. i cant focus and i cant even prioritize all the stuff im juggling

i just dont know what to do any more.