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Freshman Burnout: How to Avoid Bombing Your First Two Semesters

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Throughout elementary, middle and high school, I always began the year with a fresh, new notebook divided into color-coordinated sections for each subject. I fully intended to keep up with my assignments using this perfectly organized system. It worked well for me — until I got to ninth grade English.

Reading and writing are two of my favorite things to do, but there were way too many distractions in this particular class for me to focus. Ninth grade was the first year I had to switch classrooms each period, with different students in each of my classes. Knowing that this would be a challenge for me, I decided early on to implement my stellar organizational skills as a way to cope with the situation. Failure simply wasn’t an option.

Then suddenly it was.

In addition to having to navigate to different classrooms, both my crush and my rival happened to be in that ninth grade English class. It seemed that I was always trying to avoid ridicule from one while trying to impress the other, and it was torture! The distractions began to throw me off academically. It started with small things, such as forgetting my homework, or procrastinating on an assignment until the last minute. Somehow I lost both my momentum and my motivation, and I eventually discovered I was teetering along the edge of a failing grade. My teacher, Mr. DeMarco, was understanding and kind, but he couldn’t overlook all of my missed assignments. Before I knew it, I was so far behind that it would take weeks for me to make up all of the missing work. How had I gotten to this point?

Just as they do in high school, a whole new level of distractions will enter your world in college. Campus events, clubs, homework, part-time jobs, athletics, relationships — the list goes on. If you aren’t careful, you can slip into some really bad habits. Before you know it, you can become lost in the trap of missing classes, late assignments and (gulp) failure.

So how can you avoid falling into that trap?

      1. Make a plan. I know this seems like common sense, but it’s a step that far too many people skip. We’ve all heard the phrase “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. This is true in life, and it’s definitely true in college. Winging it is not an effective strategy, and it certainly doesn’t set you up for success. To avoid burnout, it’s crucial to have a plan (whether you write it out by hand or digitally). And if you only track your scheduled class times and due dates, then you’re missing the glue that holds it all together: time to work on assignments and study for tests. Be sure to build all of these things into your schedule, then stick to it!
      1. Designate a sacred space. If you work on your homework in the same place you watch TV, play video games or socialize with friends, then you open yourself up to the possibility of losing focus. If you don’t have a suitable space at home to do work, then there are several on-campus options at EFSC, such as the Learning Labs and Writing Centers. An added bonus: many of these locations come with free tutors and coaches to help you if you get stuck.
      1. Use the buddy system. I realize that this seems a little childish, but hear me out. Sharing your plan and your goals with a friend creates a partnership that will help to keep you accountable. While there are clearly times when you have to work alone, your buddy can always help you when you lose motivation. They can remind you why you’re doing what you’re doing — and they might just be the little push you need to keep going.
      1. Give yourself a break. It’s super important to allow yourself the freedom to rest or to have fun. All work and no play…well, you know how it goes. Burnout happens when you get too wrapped up in your work and don’t set aside time to relax and enjoy life, so be sure to make time for it. Schedule it in if you have to!
    1. Celebrate the wins. You can do this for both big and small victories. You aced the test? Celebrate! You finally understand algebra? Celebrate! You stayed awake during class? Celebrate! Each win is another step toward graduation, and let’s be honest, that finish line is the biggest win of all.

There are a lot of parallels between what it feels like to start high school and what it feels like to start college, but the stakes are much higher the second time around. College grades truly affect your future. That said, by following these simple tips, it’s easy to tap into resources that can help keep you on track — and if you’re like me, it never hurts to break out the color-coordinated notebooks as well.

Tracy Glidden
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