It’s that time of the semester again. The assignments are piling up, your sleep schedule is a disaster, and motivation is nowhere to be found. Midterms might be over, but burnout is very much alive.

Here’s some honest, practical advice to help you stay afloat when everything feels like it’s sinking.

In Class: show up and tune in

It sounds obvious, but go to class. Even when you’re tired. Especially when you feel behind. Being present makes a huge difference not just for attendance, but for understanding what’s actually going on.

While you’re there, ask questions. Clarifying even one confusing point can save you hours of frustration later. And when it comes to note-taking, don’t try to transcribe every word. Focus on the key concepts, examples your professor emphasizes, and anything that seems like it’ll come up again.

After class, take a few minutes to recap what you learned, mentally or in writing. If you’re having trouble identifying the main ideas from the day, go back to your notes and ask: What’s missing? What’s the professor emphasizing?

Outside of Class: do what you can (seriously)

Yes, you should do the reading. But if you’re buried under work, skimming is better than skipping. Get a general sense of the material so you’re not totally lost.

Try to keep a consistent schedule. Set aside a few specific hours each week dedicated to studying or homework. Don’t be afraid to take that time; just like you’d schedule time for a job, practice, or hanging out with friends, your education deserves the same priority.

General Advice: function over perfection

Let’s be real, you can’t do it all. So don’t try to. Do what matters most, and don’t beat yourself up over the rest.

• Sleep. Figure out how much sleep you need to function, then aim for one extra hour on top of that. Rest is not a luxury, it’s how your brain processes and retains information.
• Stop overthinking. Worrying about what you should be doing often takes more energy than just doing the thing.
• Use a planner or calendar. Whether it’s a physical notebook, Google Calendar, or your Notes app, having a system to track your deadlines and responsibilities helps more than you think.
• Make a to-do list. Write down everything — not just school stuff, but errands, emails, meals, whatever is taking up brain space.
• Prioritize. You probably won’t get done with every single to-do on your list. Decide what can slip through the cracks and what can’t. That’s your priority list.
• Make time for yourself. Even 15 minutes of downtime can help reset your brain. Watch a dumb video. Take a walk. Zone out. You need it.
• Give yourself wins. Make small, achievable goals. You may not be able to do it all, but don’t be afraid to celebrate what you do accomplish.

Final Thoughts

College is hard. It may seem like everyone else has their life together, but I promise they are just as stressed as you.  No one expects you to be perfectly organized, well-rested, and on top of everything all the time. But small, consistent choices can keep you from burning out completely. So if you’re reading this with three tabs open and a quiz you haven’t studied for… take a deep breath. Pick one thing on your list. Start there.

Well, it’s that time of the year again. Something about early November always creates the most unproductive energy. Now that midterms are over and Halloween has passed, I thought that I would feel like I crossed a finish line. The only problem is… we’re not finished. There’s still another month left in the semester – man, even writing that makes me feel exhausted. So, now that both your mood and my own are ruined, how can we deal with this feeling of burnout?

What is ‘burnout’?
Burnout is a feeling of emotional, mental and physical distress or fatigue. It is usually caused by extreme or constant stress, commonly arising in work and school environments. Although burnout can look different for everyone, some common symptoms are unhappiness, lack of motivation, constant procrastination, excessive tiredness, lowered self-esteem, feeling helpless and emotional detachment, according to the World Health Organization.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, keep reading! If you aren’t but you know someone who is, consider sending this article their way.

WAYS TO COPE WITH BURNOUT

Self-care
There are many types of self-care, so set aside some time in the morning or the evening for yourself. For physical stress relief, try napping, yoga, going on a walk, exercising or having a snack. For emotional wellbeing, try journaling, venting to a consenting friend and meditation. And for personal happiness, you can never go wrong with a facemask and manicure – and a RESPONSIBLE shopping trip.

Time your breaks
The ”Pomodoro Technique” helps with focus and productivity through timed breaks. First, set a timer for 25 minutes before beginning a task, then when those 25 minutes are up, take a five-minute break. Repeat this four times, and the fourth break will be longer. This method incentivizes you to get as much done before the timer goes off – kind of like a game. If 25 minutes is too long or if five minutes is too short, play with the numbers until you find your groove!

Ask for help
It can feel daunting to talk with your professors about mental health and burnout, but I have learned that many of my professors have experienced these same frustrations and don’t mind sharing their tips! Nine times out of ten times, your professor will be understanding and willing to work things out with you. If you need an extension on a paper or if you need to take a day off, just communicate with your professor about your needs so that they can help you before it’s too late. Remember, they were (and maybe still are) students, too.

Talk it out
It has been shown that talking about your problems helps. Putting your feelings into words helps your body release that tension, making it easier to sort through the negative emotions. Find a friend who is willing to listen for a different perspective on your issues or try out a therapist for a professional opinion. Journaling and writing out your frustrations can help with organizing thoughts and finding solutions on your own.

Set boundaries
Time and time again, people end up stretching themselves thin by trying to do everything others ask them to do. This is NOT healthy! Your time is valuable and important, so manage it well. Make sure that you are giving yourself enough room to do what you need and want to do before you hand it over to others. When you end up agreeing to things you don’t want to do, it shows either through body language, tone or (usually a lack of) planning. It might feel bad for the first five minutes, but saying no can save a lot of physical and emotional energy.

Try something new
Hobbies can help get your mind off of the hard stuff. But if you are too good at something, multitasking becomes a lot easier. Finding something new to do like knitting or dancing to keep yourself busy can help you find fulfillment until you can deal with other things. But remember, hobbies are hobbies and should not be used to avoid dealing with life.

RESOURCES ON CAMPUS
There are plenty of people and places around campus that can help support you when you’re feeling mentally, physically and academically down. Here are a few options.

Counseling Services
Located on the intermediate level of Curry Hall, the Counseling Services provides confidential psychological support and mental health resources. The Counseling Services offer individual TeleHealth therapy through AcademicLiveCare (ALC), where students can connect with professionals for psychotherapy, 24-hour crisis and support services, nutrition, psychiatric services, discounted prescription programs and urgent care. 

Additionally, students can talk with the Counseling Services every weekday through Let’s Talk, a brief in-person counseling meeting for more problem-solving issues. If you just need to talk, then Let’s Talk is for you!

Monday and Wednesday: 11:00-11:50 a.m. and 2:00-2:50 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday: 9:30-10:20 a.m. and 1:00-1:50 p.m.
Friday: 10:30-11:20 a.m.

Lastly, the Counseling Services provide group support sessions where each week a relevant new topic is discussed.

Accessibility Services
Down the hall from the Counseling center in Curry Hall, the Accessibility Services provide support and resources to those with disabilities as well as learning, academic, housing and dining accommodations at Jewell.

Health Center
Also on the intermediate level of Curry Hall, the Health Center is free for all current students and $15 per visit for graduate students and employees. The Health Center is open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Telehealth medical visits are also available and can be used for health services like medication refills, allergies, asthma, stomach issues, colds and flu, infections, sprains, injuries, rashes and so much more. If you have something going on, our nurse practitioner can help! To get in touch with Telehealth services, email heathcenter@william.jewell.edu. 

Student Success Center
The Student Success Center offers many resources and support systems to ensure that your time at Jewell is… well… successful. The Student Success Center offers tutoring, writing labs, test preparation and more. For more information on the Student Success Center and its resources, you can enroll in the Brightspace course (from the homepage, click ‘Discover’, then search ‘Student Success Center’ and enroll in the course!)

On Nov. 8, Missouri voters will have the opportunity to vote “yes” or “no” on this year’s midterm election ballot in response to a proposed amendment to the Missouri constitution. 

A vote “yes” on the proposal would effectively amend Section 21, Article X of the Missouri Constitution and allow the Missouri General Assembly to increase the minimum funding required for police forces that are established by a state board of police commissioners. The amendment would create an exception to Section 21, which otherwise forbids funding increases of services unless the state specifically pays for that increase. Because the Kansas City Police Department is currently the only state-controlled police force in Missouri, the proposed amendment would only affect the KCPD and Kansas City for the time being. The primary outcome would be an increase in the KCPD’s minimum funding by 2027 without reimbursement to the city. A vote “no” would veto this proposal. 

Advocates of Amendment 4 suggest that this bill would prevent further attempts to defund the KCPD, as explained by Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-34) who sponsored the measure.

“This [amendment] ensures the brave men and women in the KCPD have the resources they need to keep our city safe,” Sen. Luetkemeyer said.

Other advocates for the amendment express concern that our local officials are not equipped to make these decisions themselves: “The actions of the mayor and city council last year raised tremendous alarm regarding the stability of funding for something as important as the Kansas City Police Department,” Rep. Doug Richey (R-39) said.

However, critics of Amendment 4 argue that the proposal would be an overreach of government power, noting that every other city in the state maintains lo CXCV cal control.

“It just makes absolutely no sense that the state legislature would dictate how our local government should allocate its resources – all for the protection of the police in response to a false narrative of defunding,” Gwen Grant, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, said.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas weighed in on the matter earlier this year, expressing a similar sentiment: “I do not support anything that takes away our ability to work with our local police department and neighborhood leaders in terms of how we get to better solutions for violent crime.”

While the common talking points appear to mirror a two-sided debate between Republican and Democratic parties, some argue that the issue should be a place of common ground between parties.

“This is not a Black or white issue,” Vernon Percy Howard Jr., adjunct professor of at William Jewell College, said. “This is an American issue, symptomatic of a democracy in crisis and under siege, where state overreach is rampant in the stripping of voting and governance power from the people.” 

Howard – a Jewell graduate (‘86), pastor at St. Mark’s Church in Kansas City and President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City – continues: “[Amendment 4] further erodes democratic principles by stripping from local communities the voice and power to determine their own policies and budgets which impact the well-being of their children, families and communities…Don’t local communities reserve the right to self-governance on key local issues?”

In 2020, Howard was also the recipient of Jewell’s Invictus Social Justice Award and the Harold L. Holliday Civil Rights Award from the Missouri branch of the NAACP for his work in organizing and educating Kansas City communities about civil rights issues and activism. With proposals such as Amendment 4, Howard emphasized that voters should be aware of their historical and local implications.

“Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr….called this kind of overreach ‘interposition and nullification,’ citing the early mid-twentieth century movement among states to disrupt and turn back the rights of Blacks to vote and gain access and inclusion within the mainstream of American prosperity,” Howard said. “Critical thinkers and 21st century global leaders own the moral responsibility to remain awake on these issues. Particularly, the Jewell educated scholar, who takes seriously one of the critical questions of our core curriculum, which is, ‘how shall we live?'”

Election Day is on Nov. 8. Registered voters in Clay County can find their polling place here, and check their registration status here. For more voter resources, click on the link here.

Michaela Esau shares her tips and tricks for getting through the stress of midterms.