Everyone needs to cope with stress at some point in their life, but college students are often under intense periods of pressure, balancing their personal lives with academic demands from researching to essay-writing and revising. It's easy to feel burned out when you're juggling all of this.

But college stress can be kept under control if you maintain a degree of work-life balance, learn how to organise your work, ask for help from your tutors, and pay close attention to your mental and physical health.

In this article, we’ll share tips on how to avoid burnout in college and share some tools that can help make studying more manageable.

Tips to help you avoid burnout

Make time for sleep

Because of their demanding workload, it’s not uncommon for some students to go days without enough sleep. This not only impacts concentration and productivity, making it less likely that that you will absorb and retain information, it can also lead to mental health problems such as anxiety or depression, which in turn can further impact your ability to learn and perform well.

Try to stick to a healthy sleep routine. Strive for a minimum of 8 hours of sleep every night and take 20–30-minute power naps if necessary.

Visualisation

Visualisation is a simple and effective way to relax your mind and create mental space. It can limit your body's response to stress, disassociate your mind from the source of anxiety, and help you unwind. 

When revising for a test or planning a class talk, use guided visualisations to relax your body, and increase focus and positivity, all of which will aid your performance.

Exercise regularly

Regular exercise is one of the best ways to relieve stress. Try to incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Whether it’s practising yoga in the morning or simply cycling to campus, a regular fitness regime will support both your physical and mental health. 

Play some music

Music is not only an effective stress alleviator it has numerous other psychological benefits, including boosting productivity and positivity.

Listening to classical music while studying has been known to improve concentration and cognition. Enjoy uplifting music to stimulate your mind and listen to white noise to relax when you feel down. 

Organise your physical space

Clutter can heighten mental strain and lower productivity. A lot of students live in chaotic environments, which can poorly impact their academic performance. Adopting a minimalist lifestyle can relieve your stress and reduce the chances of burnout. By studying in a tranquil, quiet place you can give yourself a better chance of focusing and assimilating complex information.

If your living space looks disorganised and chaotic, it may be time to declutter to improve your mental well-being and relationships with your roommates. It can also help you develop a favourable mindset towards your study space, improve exam preparation and promote quality study time.

Eat healthily

Your diet has a powerful effect on your cognitive ability and eating healthily can relieve stress and enhance your learning performance. Try to eat little and often, especially during intensive study periods to avoid fatigue, poor concentration, and anxiety. And on that note, try to limit your caffeine intake in the afternoon and evening!

Best tools for better college life 

College burnout is something every student has experienced. It’s difficult juggling an academic workload, personal relationships, leisure activities and possibly part-time work. So, it’s no wonder many students feel overworked and frustrated.

The good news is there are many tools now that can help you stay at the top of your academic game. These apps can help you effectively learn, prepare for exams and form strong study habits. 

Here’s our pick of the tools to help you learn, organise your work, prepare for exams and stay in control.

Evernote

Evernote allows you to keep track of all your research papers, study materials and data in one spot. This tool enables seamless synchronisation between your desktop computer and mobile device. You can also collaborate with your classmates, save web clips, and do all your idea generation in a single app. It’s one of the best student-friendly organisational tools.

You can use Evernote for a range of activities including organising your research papers and lecture notes, and creating learning outlines from lecture notes to make essay-writing and revision easier.

Scholarcy

Looking for a tool that can convert your academic papers and book chapters into easy-to-read digests? Then you need Scholarcy. Scholarcy transforms chapters and articles into interactive summary flashcards that highlight the key claims, findings and facts as well as letting you link straight to all the cited sources in an article. It identifies and defines key concepts which is really useful if you’re getting to grips with a new subject and you can share and export your summary flashcards as a basis for essay-writing and revision.

Scholarcy's AI technology speeds up skim-reading and aids analysis and revision by highlighting critical aspects of your reading material, helping you to concentrate on what's most important. 

HowToStudy

HowToStudy has one of the largest collections of study guides on the internet. From helpful articles that can help you tackle stress to strategies that can enhance your essay-writing, HowToStudy offers all the guidance to make your academic life a success. 

HowToStudy makes its resources easy to search and save. 

Tinycards

Do you enjoy using flashcards but find it difficult to organise them? Do you want to be able to study anywhere or anytime that’s convenient? Duolingo's Tinycards app contains a huge selection of flashcards, ranging from chemical elements to political studies. And, because it's from Duolingo, you’ll find flashcards in many different languages.

Can't seem to find the flashcard deck you're looking for? You can create one that’s relevant to your studies and then share it with your classmates and friends!

Schooltraq

Have you thought of a better way to schedule study time? Schooltraq is an automated online organiser that helps students keep track of their deadlines. It’s a great alternative to a printed calendar or diary because it comes with handy reminders that make sure you’re in control of your schedule. It can also synchronise between your smartphone and computer seamlessly. 

The tool has an elegant, simple design to boost productivity and reduce stress.