How to Thrive in STEM School Without Burning Out

Written By: Ashlee Yeong-Chua (Guest Writer)

A few weeks ago, I had a close friend, a STEM student, send me a video of her scrolling through her Biology notes. It was nearly 70 pages of slides. Ouch, right? And that was only for a week’s worth of content that she needed to consolidate into memory. Can you imagine if you account for the coming weeks with their own workload? You can already feel your brain frying alive!

There's no doubt that school – regardless of whether you’re in high school or college right now – can be overwhelming and sometimes make you feel like you’re at death’s doorway. Rarely is there ever an appropriate time to celebrate finishing an assignment because there’s already another one that’s been announced around the corner. Because of this, it's extremely easy to feel burnt out in the middle of the school year after putting in so much energy since the beginning. 

If you’re just starting school (or not, it doesn’t matter!), here are a few things to keep in mind. 

Don’t procrastinate. Seriously. 

It’s tempting for sure. We’ve all done it countless times. It happens, and that’s okay! Unfortunately, procrastination can become addictive, especially if you’re someone who thrives better working under pressure. 

But will it work in the long term? Probably not. Delaying your schoolwork will only make you more stressed than you already are. By rushing to complete your tasks on time, you could be sacrificing their quality. Instead, it would be much more effective (and less taxing on your mind) to break down a project or study plan into simpler steps and do a little bit each day. That way, you’re not just trying to survive the subject’s content, but you’re also doing it well. This also gives you more sufficient time to refine and improve on your first drafts of assignments, and trust me, your teacher or lecturer can and will notice the effort and time you put into your work. 

To add on, make a to-do list. Not just because it helps you to stay organized and up-to-date with what tasks to prioritize (because let’s be honest here, it’s sick and tiring to hear constantly that we should create a to-do list just for the sake of it because everyone else seems to do so) but because you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment when you cross out something you have done, such as revision for example. Isn’t it somewhat aesthetic when you look back at a completed to-do list? That’s the main and only perk that motivates me when it comes to to-do lists. 

Relax. Literally and physically. 

I think a huge problem many of us students face is balancing school/coursework with personal hobbies and activities. We all have our own interests we wish we could dedicate more time to, but during exam period, we often push them to the side to focus on studying. Now, of course, it’s expected that if you have an important test or exam coming up, you focus all of your time and energy on that. But if that’s not the case, maybe it’s time to rethink your revolutionary plan of studying for 10 hours a day.  

Give yourself time to ‘recover’ from schoolwork by actually actively avoiding it when you should. Perhaps you would like to give yourself a rule to not study on Mondays because it's the first day of the week and you just want to laze around after a long day of classes, or maybe you would rather study at night rather than in the afternoons since you just happen to be someone who can concentrate better at that time of day. Just because you’re not studying for hours on end every single day doesn’t mean you’re not an academic weapon!

I used to feel guilty if I didn’t at least try to consolidate a little bit of schoolwork almost every day. Looking back, hustle culture isn’t as powerful as I thought it would be. Sure, it forces you to be more productive, but not without sacrificing your mental health. 

Rest is essential to your well-being, so don’t make it a reward.

Know that you’re not alone. 

Imposter syndrome sucks, doesn’t it? Feeling like you’re behind your peers is daunting. Have you ever sat in a lecture hall and looked around, and it seems like everyone is effortlessly paying attention with no issue, while you’re the only one who may be struggling to keep up? Confidence is more often a facade that people use. The truth is that countless other students in that room are probably having the exact same worries as you. They’re just good at hiding it. 

And if you really are falling behind, that doesn’t mean you’re incapable. You’re human, and every human goes at their own pace. Try to practice self-compassion and challenge those negative thoughts in your head. Stop comparing yourself to others and recognize your own values and strengths. Figure out what you’re good at and embrace that. 

To end this off, I highly recommend the book ‘Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle’ by Emily Nagoski. A self-help catered towards women, I think this one’s worth at least a few pages of reading.

Image Credit: iStock