We’ve all likely heard the saying, “It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish” more times than we can count, but as cliche as the saying is, I want to bring it back to the forefront of our minds. As it currently stands, there are fewer than 45 days until the end of the academic year.

It feels as though Syracuse University students were just coming back to campus following winter break, and now we have less than a month and a half until we head back home for the summer. With this in mind, it should go without saying that knowing your limits during the remaining weeks of classes is super important to finish off strong.

Students across the country are susceptible to fatigue, but this concept of academic burnout is real. In their study about academic burnout published in the journal “Personality and Individual Differences,” Yiwen Zhang, Yiqun Gan and Heining Cham define burnout as college students “feeling exhausted because of study demands (exhaustion), having a detached attitude towards one’s schoolwork (cynicism), and feeling incompetent as a student (reduced efficacy).” These three factors — exhaustion, cynicism and reduced efficacy — are palpable toward the end of the year, and odds are that most students on campus relate to at least one of them.

An Ohio State University survey found that the percentage of students experiencing burnout increased from 40% in August 2020 to 71% in April 2021, indicating that burnout increases among students as the year progresses, especially coming out of the pandemic. Given this information, it’s key that students remind themselves that burnout is a normal process. It is common to feel burnout, but we must keep in mind that succumbing to it can derail months of effort. The best way to beat burnout is to realize it’s a common struggle and then shift to a mindset of self-care, which is easier said than done.

Even if the stressors of school seem inescapable this deep into the year, there are ways to get your mind right and end on a high note. The Barnes Center at The Arch is a great means of taking a step back to release endorphins from working out, consult someone to talk about anything or even access pet therapy. But while these opportunities are beneficial, it’s also necessary to set personal limits.

Especially in the college lifestyle, it’s paramount to learn the power of saying no to things. It’s hard when you feel like you’re being pulled in all directions by different demands, but even harder to have to sacrifice on some aspects for your own good. This is something that I struggle with myself: it hasn’t taken long to understand that being a college student is inherently a balancing act.

Obviously, there is going to be a baseline level of responsibility, and refusing to be accountable isn’t what I’m trying to promote. Rather, I feel as if forfeiting a smaller homework grade to spend quality time with friends or staying in on a Thursday to ensure a few hours of extra sleep is something that we shouldn’t be scared to do as students. Keeping the bigger picture in mind is a difficult task, but conserving energy and enjoying each other’s company throughout the course of these upcoming weeks will minimize the burnout. You shouldn’t feel weak for dropping some weight off your shoulders every once in a while.

At the end of the day, the most foolproof way to confidently cross the finish line of a marathon-esque year is to simply put yourself first — which again, is an uphill battle. But with nearly a semester of grades and accomplishments under your belt, the challenge of prioritizing yourself is worth it to avoid a steep decline in motivation. We all have to push through this final leg of the 2021-22 academic year, so you might as well take the measures to do so in stride.

Jonah Weintraub is a freshman broadcast, digital journalism major. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at jsweintr@syr.edu.

Published on March 30, 2022 at 12:31 am