CREDIT: FSU PUBLICATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT

By the time we enter the new year, the start of a new semester is imminent and the time to return to the reality of student life slaps us hard across the face. Students still feel the stress from the previous semester’s final exams which may leave them feeling fatigued and unmotivated to start the new semester.

When students are left with residual negative feelings from the previous term, there are many options to choose from to help alleviate the stress and exhaustion from burnout. It’s important to keep both your mental and physical health in mind as burnout can impact both and doing activities that help positively reinforce your overall mood is a great booster to help get ready for the new semester.

1. Cardio


Exercise has proven to be an effective method in helping mediate and improve mental health, which can especially help fight burnout. It helps boost the brain by overstimulation of the core nervous system. During exercise, studies show that the brain is revamping itself in a multitude of different ways. Cognitive, mood, self-confidence, and motivation are all improved after a half-hour workout session.

Incorporating exercise into your daily routine, is optimal in improving your cognitive state and blood flow throughout your body, but in turn relieves the feeling of stress and being unmotivated which could help your overall mood of starting the new Semester.

2. Yoga

Like cardio, yoga also gives you the ability to regain control over your mind in silence. The best thing about yoga is the ability to do it from the comfort of your own home or in a secluded spot outdoors somewhere.

The key to making yoga work is for you to be calm and focused so that you can allow your mind to ease and rest. Focus all your internal energy entirely on emptying any anxious or tense thoughts from your mind by replacing it with more positive feelings.

In May of 2023, a study conducted at Queen’s University showed that yoga is an effective form of meditation that improves concentration and anxiety in the workplace. Different yoga techniques were able to enhance cognitive functions, like people’s attention span, which increased productivity levels through concentration and reduced fatigue.

3. Campus tutoring services

Burnout brings on a heavy onset of emotion, making us feel unmotivated. These emotions affect our ability to focus in class and hinder our patience levels when it comes to focusing on completing school work. The very last thing a student needs on their minds is poor grades at the beginning of a new semester, as that may result in their self-confidence decreasing alongside their motivation to do work.

What makes the help of a tutor so great is that the student gets a more personalized approach in helping them understand the class content. A tutor can help establish strategic learning habits that will help students down the road. Tutors also offer a good amount of positive reinforcement for a struggling student as they push them to strive for bettering their academics and building on improving their selfconfidence. Fanshawe offers academic services for students to use when needed.

4. School events and sports

The Fanshawe Student Union (FSU) puts on many social gatherings during the semester giving students the opportunity to build their friend groups and escape from the stress of school. During the fall and winter semesters, the FSU hosts events like Sex Toy Bingo in The Out Back Shack, for students to mingle and build relationships with one another. Socializing is a great way for students to distract themselves and get their minds off school for a moment. Social gatherings in a school setting help keep morale up during the semester.

For those who may not find social gatherings are their thing, another good avenue to look at is the intramural sports that open up at the start of each semester. For example, the school has an intramural ball hockey league which is open to students and staff at Fanshawe. Games are held in the gymnasium weekly with a tournament held at the end of the season to decide the top three teams.

5. Listening to music

Keeping focused after long days of lectures and studying is a problem most students can relate to. Listening to music can deter the mind from wandering off track and help maintain focus for a long period of time when trying to finish school work.

Many people have their preferred genre of music when it comes to what they want to listen to as they work. For instance, classical music relaxes the mind and improves creativity and clarity when doing mathematics and can also help increase productivity.

Overcoming the feeling of being burnt out is not a quick and easy process as it requires time and patience. Taking some time to think of ways that might help build yourself feel refreshed and rejuvenated for the oncoming semester is an important aspect of being a student and to also acknowledge the well-being of your mental and physical health.