Feeling Burnt-out

When we stress a lot, and focus all of our attention and energy into being active in our lives (whether this be through studying, working, doing art, or spending time with others) it is easy to get burnt-out. It happens to everyone at some point, and I believe that it is just a part of life that we will all go through.

If you're not too sure what I'm talking about, being burnt-out is when you still want to do things, you still want to achieve those good grades, you still want to write the next chapter of that book, but you just can't summon the motivation or energy to do so. It becomes this big struggle between what you want and what you can (be bothered) doing.

The best thing to do when this occurs is to take some time out for yourself. And when I say 'time out', I don't mean one afternoon, or going over to a friend's house, I mean take a whole week off (or at least a weekend).

Here are some of the things I do on my days off when I feel overwhelmed:

• Having bubble baths
• Going shopping or out to lunch/coffee with friends
• Making my favourite foods
• Catching up on all those tv shows
• Unplug from the social world - not checking emails, facebook, etc. as often as I usually would
• Reading my favourite books
• Sleeping in, not setting an alarm
• Going for walks in the parks that surround my house
• Not setting a huge agenda, doing what I feel like doing

Even if you end up falling behind on your workload or homework, it will be worth it in the end, because after your mini break you will feel more refreshed, and you'll be able to get things done a lot easier and more efficiently.

I thought this would be an important topic to talk about today because, as well as feeling burnt-out myself, this is a stressful time of year for many people - there is holiday homework to be done, work deadlines to meet, christmas parties to plan, etc. So I would encourage all of you who are feeling overwhelmed by life right now, to plan to take a week, or a few days, off from whatever it is that's causing you to feel that way.

May you all be feeling de-stressed and calmer soon xx