Burnout

[TrueLight]

its basically mental and/or physical exhaustion from doing too much work constantly

so to prevent...take breaks, go outside, do something else, relax

[Readinya]

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.

[Romperait]

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. =)

[kyzoo]

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.

[werdna]

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.

[dyaner]

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.

[Streaker]

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.

[dyaner]

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.

[becca92]

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..

[TrueLight]

^ 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?

[becca92]

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.

[Cianyx]

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

[sam.utute]

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.

[chrisjb]

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.

[TrueTears]

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"