Burnout Territory..

Comments

• 3 Likes

  sx23 Alum Member

  July 2018 409 karma

  You NEED a break, seriously. But it doesn’t have to be 1-2 weeks. I’ve gone through a period of time when I was consistently hitting the bottom of my score range. I didn’t wanna stop but after a few days I knew I had to. So I took a day off for a trip to DC( I live in VA), did another day of studying without doing PT( just reviewing). And started PTing again and got my first 176!

  So, dude, take 1-2 days off and just don’t think about the LSAT; it helps!
• cvaldez74 Member

  July 2018 130 karma

  for me, yes.

  last week I was knee-deep in the LG section of the CC. I was plugging away and doing fairly well. after about a week and a half of 4-6 hours of studying every day, I started just doing horribly on LG and nothing was making sense anymore. I got overwhelmed, I overthought my failures and subsequently got depressed. my brain forced me into a break that I didn't have time for - I stopped studying for 4 days. I came back fresh on Monday morning and everything was clicking again.

  everyone handles stress/burn out differently. a tremendous help for me was getting outside and getting active. I think one day of paddle boarding did more good for me than 3 days of lazing around, watching crappy tv.
• s_jricke Alum Member

  July 2018 360 karma

  @"MinnaH." said:
  I feel like I am heading towards burnout territory.. but I am in complete denial and I do not want to take a break. Is it possible to recover from burnout without taking one/two weeks off?

  Unless you're planning on taking the test at the end of this month, I would suggest taking as long as a break as you need. It's like working out really hard and then taking a break; you have to rest to truly see the gains from working so hard.

  You don't have to take one to two weeks off though, if you don't want to. Maybe take the rest of this holiday week to relax and not even think about the test. It is better to take as much time off as you need rather than study inefficiently by ignoring and trying to push through your burnout.
• studyingandrestudying Core Member

  July 2018 5254 karma

  Maybe find a fun holiday recipe to lift your spirits. I think burnout is probably inevitable for an exam like this.
• 1 Like

  paulmv.benthem Alum Member

  July 2018 1032 karma

  I have my own little burnout test: if I'm feeling mentally fatigued when I begin studying in the morning for 2 days straight, I know it's time to take a break. My brain always feels somewhat tired by the end of my prep each day, but I shouldn't be feeling it at the onset.

  Usually, taking a day or two off, making sure that I'm intentional about resting (i.e.something that will help the body relax, get in extra sleep where possible, etc.), does the trick. I also find it's good to do something positive, because otherwise I just spend my off-days wallowing in guilt over not studying.

  Even for high scorers, drilling and PTing can be exhausting. Don't be be concerned about taking some off time, but try to do something that will take your mind off of prep.
• 1 Like

  samantha.ashley92 Alum Member

  July 2018 1777 karma

  Force yourself to take a few days off. I took a weekend off and told a few people about that for personal accountability. On that Saturday, I felt "good enough" to study something. But I forced myself to take that day off with the end game in mind. Anyway, I felt much better by Monday.

  @"Jonathan Wang" posted a discussion (below) about burnout. The most relatable part for me was, "...Panicking about not studying while simultaneously making excuses not to study".

  READ THIS.
  https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/3598/burnout-and-you