is "burning out" if you work too hard on the holidays a myth?

[Russ]

For some normalcy here, I did 0 hours a day for most of the Christmas holidays and I encourage people to damn well enjoy their time before the year starts

You people scare me, six hours in January :O

[REBORN]

Exactly. I thought 2 was reasonable. But then again I can't really focus 'till I get my Psych SS so I will end up ~4hr/day in Jan.

[aiming_95]

Woah 6 hours a day? I'm doing 2. :/

6 hours MAX. I only did ~4 hours each day (and I took a study-free day every week). I put 6 as the 'cap' as the only people I know who did more than 6hr/day were coincidentally the people who were underachieving in their SACs and exam grades.

Been doing exactly that for a week now.

[Hamdog17]

I did no work in December and just enjoyed my time (I did however read my English texts over this time), in January I revisited things I had learnt in yr 11 but which I would use again (eg. Stoich in Chem, galvanic equations in Chem, calculus in methods). Getting ahead doesn't make that much sense as I know a lot of people who did that (ie. completed the entire methods course early March) and they found themselves just sitting in idly class doing nothing, and found it was impossible for them to do prac exams for 8 months! What I did was stay about 1-3 weeks ahead of the class in my subjects and it worke pretty well (I think!).

[Ravit]

im my opinion i believe it is a myth. Many students at my school completed unit 3 chemistry and all of the methods and spesh course over the holidays and got 50. (crazy, but true) ! Which goes to show the idea of 'burning out' is purely psychological. The student's aim was not to complete the content and then relax, instead they completed the course thus, built a solid platform for the start of the year. And during class they were just as intentive as the others around them, instead in their minds they were learning the teacher's methodologies and explanations and using them to build on their own. And started during practice exams earlier than others, hence when they encountered any problems they just asked the teacher for help. Through this im not saying go crazy and finsh of the unit 3 course of everything, instead complete the amount of work that keeps you feeling comfortable and prepared this in essence would vary for all students. In the end it all comes down to constiency and organisation, don't do sooooo much work in excess that it makes you will overconfident and lazy at school, rather keeps the excahnge from holidays to school as fluid as possible :DDDD

hope this helps

[Panicmode]

2 hours + is absolute ridiculousness. Seriously, these are your holidays. I did no work till about 3 weeks before I needed to go back to school (besides reading my English texts) and then comfortably finished the first 4 weeks of each course with roughly 90 minute work each day. It's always nice to be ahead in your class (it helps consolidate the information as you relearn it), but learning the entire course before you even begin school will just leave you bored during class and unmotivated to complete set work.

I don't think burning out is a myth, but I do think it can be easily avoided. Don't overload yourself with extra work - especially in the holidays - and you should be fine.

[Jdog]

if you are serious about doing well, id say doing 4-5 hours is mandatory.

Getting that little bit of head start holds you at so much of an advantage its not funny. And seriously doing 4-5 hours in a day is NOTHING. Wake up at 10 and do 2 hours from 11-1.  then do another two from 2-4. People saying shit about enjoying your holidays, whilst true, can be done whilst also studying. think about it. You can go out most nights and watever, chillin the evening and still quite easily pull 4-5 hours of study a day.

[lisavincent95]

How the hell can you guys even find enough content to study that much? I don't know if its just my dodgy schools lack of yr 12 prep but unless I just start pulling random stuff out of my text books I don't have that much to do in the holidays. I was planning on doing tons of holiday homework but when I sat down I don't even know what we're doing this year. Sure, I have a brief outline but not thorough enough for 6 hours a day without accidently learning unneeded information.

I also think that doing the entire course might not be the best idea. Its nice to be ahead so you're comfortable with all your work and never feel swamped, confused or left behind but if you finish an entire course in March you'll be twiddling your thumbs for the rest of the year. I guess I can't really talk as I haven't done year 12 so I don't know but it still surprises me.

I'm eager to hear what other people think about this! 

[Russ]

I am in complete agreement with you.

[REBORN]

For heavy subjects it's helpful (eg - Chem u3)

To finish off something like Further Mathematics is absolutely pathetic IMO. You'll be soooooooooooooo bored.

I haven't even bought the textbook for it yet. :p

[ninwa]

Enjoy your holidays, you're doing year 12 not the bloody NASA entry examination, there is no need to stress yourself out learning the entire course, and there is ESPECIALLY no need for this "4-5 hours per day if you're serious" rubbish

if you are serious about doing well, id say doing 4-5 hours is mandatory.

Getting that little bit of head start holds you at so much of an advantage its not funny

no it really doesn't

[giveup]

In order to maximize productivity, you need to find the point that you stop retaining information, and then stop! If you push yourself beyond that point you'll likely find yourself burnt out.

[pi]

I will plan to write two essays a week (TR/LA) email it to my English mentor , 3 hours of specialist and 2 hour of physics a day.

Don't waste that much of your life on physics, seriously.

To finish off something like Further Mathematics is absolutely pathetic IMO. You'll be soooooooooooooo bored.

I haven't even bought the textbook for it yet. :p

I don't see how that is pathetic at all. If you want to finish the course, go for it! For further kids out there, I would take ssNake's advice (in this case) very lightly, further is harder than it seems and getting a head-start is never bad nor is it "pathetic".

[Jdog]

Enjoy your holidays, you're doing year 12 not the bloody NASA entry examination, there is no need to stress yourself out learning the entire course, and there is ESPECIALLY no need for this "4-5 hours per day if you're serious" rubbish

if you are serious about doing well, id say doing 4-5 hours is mandatory.

Getting that little bit of head start holds you at so much of an advantage its not funny

no it really doesn't

How hard is it to fit 4-5 hours of study in a day?

I think all these people telling people to relax are misguided. Some people want to do better than average, and although for some this doesn't mean working in the holidays to get a head start for other it can be. I understand for different people, things work differently. But not acknowledging the advantage of getting a headstart suprisingly ignorant.

[Jdog]

For heavy subjects it's helpful (eg - Chem u3)

To finish off something like Further Mathematics is absolutely pathetic IMO. You'll be soooooooooooooo bored.

I haven't even bought the textbook for it yet. :p

why is it pathetic?

just because you dno't have the motivation, patience or dedication to do it, doesn't mean its pathetic. As Rohitpi metnioned, don't waste too much time listening to this piece of advice.