I’m from Korea, where high-school students often study from 9 am to 10 pm at school and, commonly, people work over 45 hours a week. I thought I had a high stress tolerance for over workload that requires a long-time span of concentration. However, I’ve been experiencing burning out every month since the last October when I started to have one or two day-off a month. As a result, my productivity dramatically decreased, and I became very grumpy.
Full-time postgraduate student & business owner
I’m a full-time postgraduate student who is expected to study more than 100 hours every month. Mind you, I know some students are more relaxed than me, but I want a strong academic career, so I’m usually one of the hard-working students. Hence, although I’ve never calculated it, I can confidently say that my study hour is over 100 hours a month. Also, I’m running a small online business. I’ve been working as an English tutor for Korean students for 3 years, and I started my business 1 year ago. Last month, I recognised one of my British friends was full of potential to be my work partner in terms of polyglot and personality. After hiring her, the demand tripled, so I had to change the system and adopt new tools within a limited time. At the beginning of March, I went to bed at 2-3 am, and I got ill a lot during the month. My bank account seemed happy, but my body and brain were not. Not at all.
Easter break
I believe God still loves me! I got 2 weeks of Easter break. It’s the same that I need to work for my business and work on assignments or group projects, but I was able to have a half-day off for a few days. Fortunately, the weather was nice at around 20 Celsius, so I enjoyed my picnic at a park. People in the park were climbing a tree, having a BBQ, lying down on the grass, riding a bike, playing with dogs, or doing sports. Everybody was chilling on the grass under the blue sky with pretty clouds. Except that all the toilets were closed due to the pandemic, it was a paradise for me. I felt alive. After a couple of picnics, my productivity increased again.
When you are experiencing burning out…
You can find your spot that helps you relax. Besides, I recommend you keep your daily routine, including exercise or any hobby for a few hours a week. Or what about exploring new places in the UK like a tourist?
I know that the pandemic makes our life hard, but we should not forget that we deserve to be happy, and we are the ones who can make ourselves happy. Have a happy day!
