As we enter the month of December, the holiday lights go up and Christmas music is played everywhere you go. This time of year is easily my favorite; I am filled with the holiday spirit and love the magic of it all. BUT if you are like me, my life gets significantly more hectic as well. If you are still taking or teaching classes, finals are quickly approaching, the rush to get good data before the holiday break is looming, plus there are more social events that you would love to attend. To top it all off, the hours of sunlight are dwindling and the weather is colder. During this time of year, it is important to remember to take care of yourself. It is so easy to let the chaos of the end of the semester/calendar year control our lives. Here are 5 tips that we often hear, but need to be told again to help combat that holiday (and really day-to-day graduate school) burnout:
Grace Pakeltis, GMC-E
- Sleep: This is the first thing to go when life gets busy. “Sleep is for squares” was my favorite phrase as an undergrad, but without consistent, quality sleep the quality of your work and decision making goes down. Consider setting a bedtime alarm to remind yourself that it's time for bed. This allows yourself consistent sleep from night to night. Additionally, give yourself 30 minutes without screen time before bed. Use it as a time to reflect on the day and mentally prepare for tomorrow. Keep that 30 minutes as a way to wind down at the end of a hard day.
- Exercise: Any way you can increase your physical activity throughout your day is the key! Consider taking a lunchbreak walk or doing workout videos at home online or head to a gym. By adding a little exercise into your daily routine, you can help combat those burnout symptoms and make yourself feel happier and more energized to go through your days.
- Eat Well: You have to feed that beautiful, smart brain in order for it to work for you! There are plenty of ways to combat the cost and time that is associated with eating healthier food. I use Pinterest religiously to find low cost recipes that are healthy and quick. For me, cooking real food during the week can seem like the absolute hardest thing I could ever do, and I am working on a PhD. To combat that, I meal prep on Sundays and have every meal made for the week. This allows for me to still eat even when experiments go awry. Using a Crockpot can also help you make a large batch of a meal while you are at the lab or in class.
- Reach Out to Your Community: Whether your community is your labmates, fellow graduate students, or friends not in graduate school, they are the people who make wherever you are home. Do not be afraid to reach out and ask for help when you need to! Whether that is asking your labmates for help on a task or a friend to listen to the stresses you are experiencing, be sure to use that community you have built. Community is vital to surviving your graduate degree and they want to help you! A great way to expand your community virtually is through the GradSWE Slack. Here you will find students who are facing similar situations and want to help you get through it all!
- Be Kind to Yourself: You are doing great! Make sure you tell yourself that. When life gets stressful and your work starts having troubles, it is so easy to wallow in the failures and struggles. When you start getting down, remember that graduate school is hard and we all have hiccups, continue to move forward and you will end up stronger. Keep learning and improving in everything you do and be sure to celebrate the little victories as well as the big ones!
Grace Pakeltis, GMC-E
