Tips for Avoiding Burnout While Abroad

Studying abroad is a great opportunity, but it has also come with a lot of lessons, specifically on prioritizing time for yourself. There is an added pressure to make sure you’re traveling, seeing the tourist attractions in your new city and keeping up with school. It is difficult to just put what you need on the back burner to keep up with these new expectations.

I have experienced this the hard way and have been dealing with burnout. It has been hard to balance travel, school and myself. Over time I have learned a healthier way to account for what my body and brain need from me.

It is EQUALLY important to schedule time to relax as it is to travel. If you are burnt out, you will not enjoy the things you have planned. I have found that doing a few small things each day will help to prevent this feeling. I have scheduled at least an hour of time in the gym, reading 10 pages of a book of my choosing or just taking a well-needed nap. On a good day, I will get most of these things done, but even just one is rewarding and beneficial.

Find people to talk to about things other than school. The staff at the Syracuse London location has been very helpful in working through burnout, by just providing someone to listen. This has been very helpful because you just get to vent to a trusting staff member and have someone listen to what you’re experiencing. It has been great when I need a solution to an issue, or just to have someone understand my feelings and let me vent.

I have learned a lot about myself this semester, especially since I cannot forget to prioritize myself. Taking a mental health break and staying home for a weekend is not “a waste of time” or “unproductive.” It is productive to take care of yourself.