ATAR Notes: Forum

VCE Stuff => Victorian Education Discussion => Topic started by: Christiano on December 23, 2010, 06:37:30 pm

Title: Burnout
Post by: Christiano on December 23, 2010, 06:37:30 pm
So I've heard a lot about this, but I dont think I've ever worked hard enough to feel this..
What do you feel when you experience this?
Is it a common occurrence?
How can you prevent this from happening?
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: iNerd on December 23, 2010, 06:44:17 pm
When you feel an immense wave of guilt for taking a break when you "should" be studying, paired with the symptom of partial sleep deprivation as you can't sleep because you keep thinking about studying.

Avoid burnouts through a healthy balance of studying, rest and play.

NB: That's my interpretation only and subject to debate and interpretation.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: Predator on December 23, 2010, 06:52:28 pm
It could also be seen as the point where one does not feel any motivation at all.
Mainly caused by a lot of study and doing nothing else such as exercise, breaks and time out with family and friends.
I know someone that all they did was study study study for their exams this year. They ended up getting very very tired before the exams and thought they could fix this by studying more to do better on their exams.

It is best to take rests and have a balance of exercise to get your mind in a good state and also get out and about if thats your thing if not read a book or play a game.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: nacho on December 23, 2010, 06:53:23 pm
I don't think you can 'burn out'.. during the term 3 holidays this year i learned my whole 3/4 course on the 2 week hols + 1 week of school.
It was a lot of studying (for me anyway), I went over the whole course, around 5-6 hours a day for the 2 week hols and around 3-4 during school.
I remember getting sick, but i don't think it was from studying.
As long as you rest, you'll be fine.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: lexitu on December 23, 2010, 06:56:38 pm
It's been taken from the sport concept of overtraining I think. Similar principles apply. If you do too much without rest and rejuvenation you'll get sick and feel demotivated. To prevent it you can do things such as adding variety to study and making sure you intersperse bouts of fun within study.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: Romperait on December 23, 2010, 07:20:19 pm
I've felt it. It burns. 8-)

Just happens when the motivation you once had to work hard runs out.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: Russ on December 23, 2010, 07:21:16 pm
Quote
I don't think you can 'burn out'..

Trust me, you can burn out from too much study/cramming
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: eeps on December 23, 2010, 07:29:02 pm
Avoid burnouts through a healthy balance of studying, rest and play.

Yes, I agree with that.

I think you should do everything in moderation. Have set periods of time where you study, play and so on. Take a break from studying - run around the block or something.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: luken93 on December 23, 2010, 07:35:32 pm
Quote
I don't think you can 'burn out'..

Trust me, you can burn out from too much study/cramming
Agreed

For me, the point at which I knew every definition for BM, and I had done enough practice exams, you basically have no motivation to try that little bit harder

I'd have to say though that it happened because BM is a boring subject, I eenjoy doing Maths/Science so I (hope) I won't burn out this year :)
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: chrisjb on December 23, 2010, 07:38:58 pm
Just happens when the motivation you once had to work hard runs out.
That's about right I think, whenever I have burnt out I always look for motivation but I can only ever kick start myself for like twenty minutes and then just go back to doing anything but studying.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: Ghost! on December 23, 2010, 08:16:26 pm
Just happens when the motivation you once had to work hard runs out.
That's about right I think, whenever I have burnt out I always look for motivation but I can only ever kick start myself for like twenty minutes and then just go back to doing anything but studying.

And you starting thinking of every reason why your exam/sac/course doesn't matter at all, so you shouldn't bother.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: Streaker on December 23, 2010, 08:27:33 pm
One way to prevent burnout (I found it very useful) is to spend your free time and study breaks doing something outside of the house (going out, exercising, shopping etc.) rather than sitting indoors and spending time on the computer or watching TV, because being indoors really accentuates the feeling of guilt that was previously mentioned.

Quote
And you starting thinking of every reason why your exam/sac/course doesn't matter at all, so you shouldn't bother.

Good point. To prevent this, aim to overcome your short-term goals (e.g. think "I will do two chapters from this area of study in Checkpoints" rather than 'Ok I'm going to study for the exam now") and don't think about long-term goals just yet. Set specific every-day goals and set out to overcome them each night that you study.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: QuantumJG on December 23, 2010, 08:57:30 pm
Pretty much what people are saying defines a burnout pretty well. It happens to me usually by the time exams are around a month away I just literally burnout.

With uni and having at least one assignment each week, I just have zero motivation when exams are 1 month away. This year I'm thinking of putting less effort into my Maths subject assignments (the exam is worth 80%) and doing some proper study.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: QuantumJG on December 23, 2010, 09:10:57 pm
Some of this advice seems great to me (and I'm 2/3rds through my degree). I really should take up some hobby to get some motivation and just a fresh mind when studying.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: andy456 on December 23, 2010, 09:24:25 pm
I'd describe it as having a feeling of despair. As in you question 'what's the point? I'm over it'
I think its hard to avoid and pretty much every year 12 gets it at some stage.
Btw I think its contagious so if your friends get it STAY AWAY FROM THEM




or that might just be laziness...
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: TrueLight on December 23, 2010, 09:29:29 pm
its basically mental and/or physical exhaustion from doing too much work constantly

so to prevent...take breaks, go outside, do something else, relax
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: Readinya on December 23, 2010, 10:09:42 pm
For me, my period of "burn out" happened after the Yr 11 Midyear exams. I had two year 12 subjects, of which i put in a lot of effort into Literature (extra research, lots of writing/editing/re-writing...) and then after a brief cramming session for my midyears - i felt all that motivation go POOF!  So for the holidays and ALL of Term 3, i felt tired, and seemed to lack any self-encouragement to keep up with work at all. I took home all my work, then looked at it, said "Screw this" and promptly went to sleep.

So the moral of this tale is, as everyone has put it, space yourself out. It's also natural to feel down/unmotivated/"I-dun-care-anymore" but it's better to break this period of "burn out" quickly or it could become a bad cycle and drag on for as long as a whole term.

Make some kind of pact with your mates so that if any or you enter this stage of almost semi-depression, the others will take you for a night out, etc - a Wake Up call.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: Romperait on December 23, 2010, 10:27:29 pm
For me, my period of "burn out" happened after the Yr 11 Midyear exams. I had two year 12 subjects, of which i put in a lot of effort into Literature (extra research, lots of writing/editing/re-writing...) and then after a brief cramming session for my midyears - i felt all that motivation go POOF!  So for the holidays and ALL of Term 3, i felt tired, and seemed to lack any self-encouragement to keep up with work at all. I took home all my work, then looked at it, said "Screw this" and promptly went to sleep.

Haha happened to me after I got my unit 3 exam result for enviro. Could not be bothered with anything school related until I was brought back to reality with some less than stellar sac marks. =)
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: kyzoo on December 24, 2010, 12:31:41 am
I got burned out in the latter stages of Term 3 =/ Couldn't be bothered doing work anymore and just played computer games till 5AM in the morning for a few weeks.

I guess it happened because of several factors
1.) Too much study and not enough going out
2.) Couldn't really find any motivation to do VCE. I kept asking myself why I want to do VCE and could never find a satisfactory answer

In the end, I got pulled out of this state when exam prep time (Term 3 holidays) came around. With each day, my motivation to hardcore study increased. I realised that my reason to do VCE was just to get the best marks possible, and to aim for 100%s on exams.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: werdna on December 24, 2010, 12:44:15 am
I got burned out in the latter stages of Term 3 =/ Couldn't be bothered doing work anymore and just played computer games till 5AM in the morning for a few weeks.

I guess it happened because of several factors
1.) Too much study and not enough going out
2.) Couldn't really find any motivation to do VCE. I kept asking myself why I want to do VCE and could never find a satisfactory answer

In the end, I got pulled out of this state when exam prep time (Term 3 holidays) came around. With each day, my motivation to hardcore study increased. I realised that my reason to do VCE was just to get the best marks possible, and to aim for 100%s on exams.

And it looks like it definitely worked. ;)
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: dyaner on December 24, 2010, 12:56:39 am
I remembered burning out so much that I lost motivation. I was stressing out, tired, sleep deprived - not a good position to be in Year 12.

All year 12s should try avoid this, though it happens to everybody.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: Streaker on December 24, 2010, 01:01:49 am
All year 12s should try avoid this, though it happens to everybody.

Funny thing is that all of those things happened to me in Year 11. I learned from it and knew how to avoid it in Year 12.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: dyaner on December 24, 2010, 01:03:47 am
All year 12s should try avoid this, though it happens to everybody.


Funny thing is that all of those things happened to me in Year 11. I learned from it and knew how to avoid it in Year 12.

I guess it's different for everyone, I was managing it well in Year 11 so I had no problems. Year 12 came... and poof, the rest was evident.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: becca92 on December 24, 2010, 01:04:53 am
I was burned out after my mid year chem result, not because of a bad mark but in fact cos it was an A+ and i got so overwhelmed and excited that i thought i could spend less time on school. It lasted a whole month and I couldnt get motivated to do ANYTHING and was in the same "screw this" mentality, until I realised that I was in the most important year of my life thus far, year 12.

So eventually I got pumped for exam prep and things just got so much easier after that.
Anywhos, overconfidence can make people lose sight of their goals..
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: TrueLight on December 24, 2010, 01:07:06 am
^ i don't think thats called burned out
theres a difference between demotivation and burnout. although burnout can lead to demotivation they are not the same thing. how can you burnout (which implies exhaustion) when you got a great mark and your really happy?
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: becca92 on December 24, 2010, 01:20:24 am
I see.... anyway I wasnt too happy after it all cos I wasted so much time, and that one month was really just demotivation then guilt i guess.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: Cianyx on December 24, 2010, 04:10:50 pm
Trust me on this, you will get physically sick from the constant stress and studying. I had to take a week off school because of it. There isn't a way around it. You just got to recuperate your loses and try to make back lost time.

Also, Burnout 3 was the best in the series
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: sam.utute on December 24, 2010, 04:27:46 pm
Hmm... Never really happened to me. Despite my intense study over the summer break, I never really reached to point of 'burnout'. I also went cold-turkey on just about everything enjoyable (gaming, movies, going out etc.), and even then didn't reach the exhaustion stage. Its still a myth for me.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: chrisjb on December 24, 2010, 05:08:31 pm
One more thing, IMO the only way to get out of a rut when you're burnt out is to take time off untill you feel like studying again. It doesn't work to just 'cut back' your study or to study in a different way. It's like when you've eaten so much that you simply can't eat anymore and you need to wait untill you're hungry again.
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: TrueTears on December 24, 2010, 05:14:24 pm
So I've heard a lot about this, but I dont think I've ever worked hard enough to feel this..
What do you feel when you experience this?
Is it a common occurrence?
How can you prevent this from happening?
no idea, i haven't heard about "burning out" before i came to VN, never experienced it, basically just do what you like and i guess you shouldn't feel "burnt out"
Title: Re: Burnout
Post by: sam.utute on December 26, 2010, 01:41:30 pm
So I've heard a lot about this, but I dont think I've ever worked hard enough to feel this..
What do you feel when you experience this?
Is it a common occurrence?
How can you prevent this from happening?
no idea, i haven't heard about "burning out" before i came to VN, never experienced it, basically just do what you like and i guess you shouldn't feel "burnt out"
Same here. I was pretty surprised to hear that people actually reached such a desperate stage. Never really happened to me or any of my friends/acquaintances.