CREDIT: "STUDYING" BY STEVEN S. ON FLICKR. LICENSED UNDER CC BY 2.0 / DESATURATED
School is daunting and can bring on feelings of being burnt out.

It’s still early on in the semester, and some of you are already feeling the stress and pressure return after your rejuvenating holidays. Burnout is a common problem with college and university students, and it can be debilitating to people both financially and personally. Here are the signs to look for to detect if you are experiencing burnout and ways that you can prevent it.

How do I know if I am experiencing burnout?

Helpguide.org defines burnout as “a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.” Burnout affects every area of your life. It drains you of motivation and determination and can make you question why you’re getting an education at all. You may feel like you don’t care about your grades and hand in a subpar assignment. You may leave all of your studying until the night before your final exam worth 30 per cent of your mark. You may feel too exhausted to even attend classes. All of these things, especially when experienced at the same time, can destroy your GPA and possibly diminish future opportunities. Additionally, when you reach this level of exhaustion it is hard to care about your finances and where your money is going. You are more likely to splurge on something that makes you feel good in the moment. Here are some cost-effective ways to help keep you at the top of your game.

Start your morning out right

Instead of sleeping past your alarm and hitting snooze constantly, wake up a little earlier and take a few minutes to do something calming. Reading something inspiring, meditating or doing yoga are all great examples of how to start your day by releasing any stress you’re holding onto.

Learn to say ‘no’

We all have that person in our life that requires a little too much of our time. They are normally someone close to us, which makes it difficult to say no to their phone calls and texts. In these moments, it is best to take a deep breath and ignore your phone. You need to take care of yourself first and come back to that person when you are feeling less stressed and overwhelmed.

Power down

Technology can do amazing things and has changed our lives, mostly for the better. Where it falls short though is allowing us to take a break. We are constantly connected, which can take a toll on our health. Choose one night a week to power down all of your devices: laptop, phone, iPod, TV and so on. You might feel tense at first if you are not used to being without them. But if you are able to keep them off you will feel a sense of calm that most people never get to experience in this day and age.

Sleep and exercise

We all hear about the benefits of sleep and exercise constantly. Many people skip exercising and pull late nights consistently, because they feel they don’t have enough time. Unfortunately, this thinking is counterintuitive. You don’t have enough time NOT to exercise and sleep properly. When you are experiencing burnout your mind disengages from the task you are trying to complete. However, when you exercise your body is filled with endorphins, which are neurotransmitters, and will essentially wake your mind up. After just 20 minutes of exercise you’ll be able to concentrate better and ultimately produce greater results more quickly. Additionally, exercise will help you sleep better and you will wake up feeling refreshed and energized.

In order to make the best decisions for your life, you need to be present to deal with them. If you follow the suggestions listed above, you will be better prepared to deal with stress as it comes and prevent burnout from occurring.