You spend all day at school, constantly balancing assignments for each class and figuring out what to do next. It feels like the work just continues to pile on. You finally get home from school, just to spend what feels like countless hours on homework, when all you want to do is lay in bed. You finally get all your work done, but by the time it’s all complete, it’s time to go to sleep. You go to bed just to wake up in the morning and do it all over again.
According to the National Library of Medicine, around 18% of high school students experience academic burnout, and that number has continued to rise over the past decade. Burnout is defined as an “emotional state of exhaustion and feelings of inadequacy,” according to the National Library of Medicine.
In a 2017 study at Korea University, psychologists found that students are more susceptible to burnout if they lack support from teachers and lack personal accomplishment. It’s easy to get so caught up in your priorities that you forget to care for your well-being. To avoid feeling burnt out, it’s important to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
A Slack survey found that 43% of workers and students who take breaks can better manage stress and feel more productive. From just taking breaks alone, you can reduce your stress, improve your concentration, improve your creativity, and improve your overall physical health.
One way to create a healthy work-life balance is by setting boundaries. Through setting clear boundaries between your work and personal life, you can prevent burn out and overall stress. When you’re continuously stressed out or overwhelmed, people tend to work their worst and the work ends up sloppy. By setting boundaries and creating a timeline of how you need to get your work done, and including mental breaks, you can improve the quality of the work you are trying to achieve just by creating a space where you can take time to reset. Breaks are crucial to keeping your mind sharp and preventing burnout.
Another way to help maintain that balance is through self-care and hobbies. Set some time aside for yourself and find some hobbies to reduce your stress and clear your mind. Some stress-relieving hobbies could be going on a walk, taking a relaxing bath, skincare, art or whatever helps you feel more relaxed. Just by taking time out of your day to relax, you can improve your productivity and motivation.
Ultimately, maintaining balance throughout your life is crucial in creating success throughout your life. While productivity and accomplishments are top priorities, everyone needs to set time aside for themselves to reset, clear their heads, and improve their personal well-being.
