THIS IS A RETROACTIVE POST FROM THE FEBRUARY BREAK
This break was a mess for me. I went from ahead in school to behind and went from a solid routine of productivity to a week of procrastination and ADHD paralysis. I did, however, read the entirety of Rainbow Rowell’s Pumpkin Heads. This is a graphic novel released in 2019. It is a cutesy feel-good novel and was enjoyable to read, but I swear enjoying something has nothing to do with if I will or will not do something at this point in my life.
I struggle sometimes to motivate myself to do things I enjoy, I think it has to do with having only so much energy, as well as so many activities feeling so overwhelming. Slowing down is hard, giving up the distractions I rely on is hard, and being present in the world is hard. I love being distracted and I am not as distracted with a book as I am doom scrolling on TikTok.
I wonder sometimes if I am burnt out, I don’t know much about it. Obviously, I know what it is, but I feel like there is a spectrum, and there is a such thing as “pre-burnout”, or “being a little burnt out”, so I have decided to research this for this post. This Forbes article entitled “Am I Burned Out? How To Recognize The 12 Stages Of Burnout” details 7 more stages in the burnout process compared to the typical 5, and reading this I would probably put myself at stage 5. I am a workaholic and need to be busy all the time with work and school and I have found myself being a much greater ‘homebody’ compared to only a couple of years ago. I don’t like going for drinks with friends, going shopping, or hiking with my dogs as I used to, but I would not consider myself depressed, just exhausted and unmotivated.
Well, if I am burning out, what the heck do I do now? How do I take a step back from responsibilities with a full-time job and full-time course load? Honestly, I would love any advice from any classmates on how to keep up with all the responsibilities of life while still making time to enjoy it and also doing said thing when the time arises.
I have also included a YouTube video about practicing mindfulness and meditation with ADHD. I feel like this relates to the first half of my post, about my struggles of motivating myself to be without distraction. At the beginning of the video, the difficulties od ADHD are discussed and just hearing her relate so much to me that it relaxed me a great deal, and helped me feel less ashamed of all the things I feel like I “can’t do” right now.
Well, that’s it y’all. I hope you all are doing amazing and please comment and reply if you have any advice on work/life balance and learning to slow down! Have an awesome week!
Cheyenne
I can relate to your post on so many levels. I also am struggling with the work/life/school balance so much so my body has begun protesting loudly through panic attacks (I do not recommend them). I think what I have realized is that we need to prioritize our own mental well-being probably more so than anything else. We are no good to our families or jobs or school work when we have nothing left to give. I’ve been really trying to allow myself to take the time to just relax and do nothing as well as making time to get outside or on the treadmill even if its only 15 minutes. These small changes have made a difference for me.
Hi Cheryl,
I feel you a lot. I have general anxiety disorder and this winter/ beginning of spring has been miserable. I need a break but I find myself ruminating and unable to settle whenever I am given the opportunity to relax. My body and brain are running on empty but is refusing refueling. If you ever want to talk please message me. I think we all can relate to the burn out right now.
Cheyenne
Cheyenne, I also really struggled over the break and the week after. When you’re a routine driven person, it is do difficult to get back into routine after it has been broken. I found last week (March 4-10) to be easier to accomplish tasks with my routine coming back to me. I often wrestle with wanting and needing a break week, but wishing I didn’t have a scheduled disruption of my routine and the weeks that follow. Here’s hoping our individual routines come fully back to us this week!
Hi Raisa,
I can relate strongly to wanting a break but also not wanting a disruption in your schedule. It really is a catch-22 situation.
Best of luck!
Cheyenne