Surviving midterms—two words that shouldn’t go together but yet somehow always do. As the mid-semester wraps up, students are met with an inevitable fate—midterm burnout. We all experience burnout one way or another.
However the question at hand is “How do we navigate this burnout and ‘survive’ our midterms?” Is there a healthy balance between social interaction, studying, and taking care of ourselves?
When interviewing Covenant students, the general response was that there seems to be a constant battle against the clock. Ezra Harris, a sophomore, relates to this sentiment. “I had no time,” Harris states. “ I had nonstop homework on top of all that [midterm exams] and some life stuff popped up—just small life stuff, but enough to make it … awful.”
Ellie Clement, a sophomore, agrees. “I studied so many hours for each one; my brain was fried, and I just felt so exhausted,” Clement expresses.
There’s no denying that midterms require extra effort and oftentimes leave students with a constant fight or flight feeling. The key in navigating the weight is finding a balance that works for you.
Sophomore Caroline Stewart comments, “There's a lot of things that you do have to say no to. You shouldn't say no to everything, but you should weigh how important it is to get that thing done.” Discovering where your boundary is and how much you can handle is a good way to start.
“Be aware of the content load so you know how much time you need to give yourself,” describes Harris, “and also ask other people for help.” It’s okay to lean on others during this time, we need community, and sometimes, the best thing is to study with a friend or two. “Studying with other people is really good,” Stewart expresses. Sometimes this practice can produce a sense of accountability you didn’t know you needed.
Although academic burn out is more common, some feel it more socially. “I feel like everybody has this period right before fall break around midterms, where you're just so absolutely sick of people,” states Stewart. For some it might be harder to try to meet the needs of others while also trying to meet your own.
Yet even in the midst of an anxious time, Stewart highlights the importance of “having patience for the people around you.” Freshman Caleb Hawks resonates with the social burnout side of midterms. “Socially, I did feel burned out because of all the pressure,” stresses Hawks. “Not quite feeling left out but feeling obligated to do something and not knowing quite what that is; just balancing what is too much and what is too little.”
Even though the stress can make us want to hibernate in our dorms, it's important not to isolate yourself. “Stay connected with people,” Hawks says. “You know yourself as a person. Find your balance.” Clement adds to this: “Try to find little breaks in between the chaos. It’s really nice and helps to have someone.” Taking time away from studying and giving yourself a break can make it easier to return when it's time to work again.
Hawks reminds us of the importance of spending time with God in the midst of burnout. “I think it's a time where you can reevaluate your commitment to God. I was spending too much time on finding my own space to relax [midterm balance] and not relaxing in the Lord and what He had done for me.”
It can be easy to push aside spending time with Christ, especially in a highly stressful time period. Hawks says that we can look to the Lord in times of stress, “centering your life around Christ, looking to him first, and making space to spend time with God.”