Post grad school burnout

Guys, I have to admit that I am burnt out. Post grad school burnout has hit me hard and it is not fun. I know this is a pretty common occurrence with most graduates, but I was hoping that I was not the case, unfortunately (like most of my hypotheses in grad school), I was wrong. So, today I am going to go over what I am feeling, what I have done already to overcome the burnout, and possibly things that I will do in the future to make sure this doesn’t happen again. I will also provide some tips for dealing with the end of your grad school experience so you don’t experience/limit the experience of post grad school burnout.

post grad school burnout

How I know it’s burnout

First off, I have been working non-stop since I started my PhD. Heck, I was basically working prior to that as well and never really took much time off while in grad school or before going back. So, I am fairly certain, just based on that, that I am burned out.

However, grad school, in the beginning, was a bit slow and a peaceful time, especially during covid, so I was able to relax most days, put in maybe like 25-30 hours of work a week, and then just enjoy the rest of the time. Because of this, I didn’t really get burnt out. Unfortunately, as one goes along with their doctorate, you start to get busier and busier, until eventually you are running full force for 8-16 hours a day, 6 to 7 days a week. Yes, that was me towards the end.

I knew I was burnt out because there were times where I would have to drink 2 energy drinks and about 2 or 3 coffees to stay awake and my energy level was beyond low. I pushed myself way beyond what I should have and I honestly regret it. It is not worth my health.

What people say about working hard and how that affects burnout

In grad school and even now, I would read articles about hustle culture and constantly being “on”. Working late nights each night and putting in overtime are just things that “successful people do”. I took that to heart. Yes, it is one of the dumbest possible things that I could do. I was submersing myself in YouTube videos on side hustles, working multiple jobs, blogging non-stop, as well as staying up late to finish projects. Sure, I was extremely productive, but it wasn’t worth it. It never is worth it.

People often say that you need to work hard to succeed. Sure, I believe that you need to put in some work, but they never tell you “how much work”. Think about it for a second. What is the definition of “hard work?” How do we even quantify hard work? Is it working 50 hour weeks? 100 hour weeks? or are they saying work hard and produce maybe one or two things a week? I really don’t know what that statement means and it means alot to different people.

Working hard in grad school could mean producing one manuscript each semester or just waking up to do one experiment. For me, I didn’t know what was meant by hard work and had no metric to go off of so I pushed myself harder and harder. I think that is what society and our jobs want us to do. Work until you literally can’t anymore.

Post grad school burnout and how it's going

How it’s going

Because I had no way to really compare myself to what hard work was or what was enough, I just kept going. Now I am tired, depressed, anxious, happy, sad, exhausted, energized, and everything in between. I have a hard time really doing anything that I love at night because I am drained. Coffee doesn’t help, energy drinks just make me jittery, and my workouts have suffered. Post grad school burnout has hit me hard… but I won’t let it stop me.

What I am going to do to prevent post grad school burnout

Ok, so the first thing that I will do and what you need to do if you are experiencing this is to take a break. At first, it might just have to be just taking a weekend at a time to just sit inside, watch movies, or possibly just sleep a ton. For me, I am cutting back on going out and planning to do a ton of things over the weekend and just vegging. I still workout on the weekends and do some small activities such as walking the bridge by my place or fishing, but that’s it.

You need to start with small things like that. I was going on trips every weekend and the past few weekends I have been driving long distances to do stuff. I am reducing that big time. If I don’t then my body will definitely stop me. But start with just slowing down. That’s the first step.

reduce grad school burnout with a vacation

Take a vacation or a sabbatical

This is where I messed up. When you finish grad school, take a vacation. Take a very long vacation and do not start a job right away. You may not realize how stressed and overworked you were towards the end! Trust me on this one, take time off, go on a trip to another country, enjoy the time away from work and go do something you’ve been putting off because you were working all of the time. Life is not about work so stop listening to people when they tell you that you need to get a job right away! You just completed one of the most stressful things in life and now it’s time to rest.

I honestly think this is the most important thing you can do. I know too many people that did not do this and they are in terrible situations dealing with burnout. Life is meant to be enjoyed and experienced. A job can wait. And if you are overly burnt out, you might be out of a job sooner than later due to low performance. Take a bleeping vacation.

I have a few trips that are planned for this year to take some time off and enjoy this life. Luckily I make a good salary compared to grad school so I can afford better trips. Unfortunately, my trips are at the end of the year, so I have to rely on taking it easy to reduce post grad school burnout.

therapy for post grad school burnout

Seek help for post grad school burnout

One thing that I have noticed with this burnout is I am fairly depressed. I am worn down, anxious, and not having a great mental state most days. I am fine talking about this subject, in fact, if you are new to this blog, that is what it’s all about, mental health. But lately, the burnout has ramped up these emotions and feelings and I actually decided that I need help. I am on Talkspace again (check out my blogs about it). I just started and was match with a therapist. We will see how it goes and if it can help because I need it.

When you get burnt out after grad school, you’ll probably sink into a depression. Heck, you may just have a case of post grad school depression. Please, please, please get help. It is not worth suffering alone and it is totally fine to admit that you need a bit of a push to get better. Getting help can really make a huge difference and get you back in the game. I’m sure my therapist will also help to come up with ways to help me reduce post grad school burnout.

Don’t take things so seriously

You have done it. You have proven to yourself and others that you work hard, you’re intelligent, and you’re awesome. So stop caring about it all (care a tiny bit but not a lot). Take time to enjoy life and take things slower. If you do this then burnout will never come, I promise you that. For me, I am putting in enough effort to show that I am a good person, but I am not and will not over commit to my profession. I won’t put in those 60 hour weeks unless I absolutely have to and am paid and I won’t go the extra mile to take on work that robs me of my time with others. I will start taking it slow and smelling the flowers and enjoying the time off. No, I will not take a job that is high paying where I will have to give up my soul. It is not worth it and you will burn out. Heck, you might have a heart attack if you keep up how things were at the end of a doctorate.

The only thing you should ever take serious are your relationships with others and your interests. The best part about after grad school is being able to take those hobbies up again as well as developing deeper relationships with others. That’s where your effort needs to go. I promise you that spending your time doing what you love to do will never cause burnout..at least I hope not.

Final thoughts

Guys, I have post grad school burnout but I am getting help. It is time to take control of my life and actually listen to my own advice. If you are in the same situation as me, please reach out to someone. You have my email so maybe I can provide some assistance. We are in this together and just know you are not alone.

I hope you enjoyed this post because I have plenty more coming in the next few weeks. Until next time, peace.

How to Prevent Grad School Burnout

This post about burnout in grad school may contain affiliate links. For more information see disclosure at bottom of home page

I am hoping you are coming to this page in hopes to prevent burnout in grad school rather than trying to find a cure. Today, I want to share what burnout in grad school is and how to prevent it. I also want to discuss ways in which you can help reduce it, in case you are already burnt out.

What is burn out in grad school?

According to mayo clinic “burnout is a special type of work-related stress — a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity”. Burnout is pretty much working yourself so much to the point where you lose motivation to do any work, what-so-ever. People that experience burnout usually work quite a lot and are in very stressful fields of work or study. Grad school is one of those fields in which you will probably be working way more hours than full time employees. you will most likely over exhaust yourself day after day. This can lead to burn out.

How do I know I am burnt out?

When you first started grad school, did you feel super motivated? You were ready to take on the world and every project out there! After a little while of working, you started to notice that you didn’t really have the motivation anymore. You may have woken up and found that you really couldn’t do any work at all. At first you may just stay you’re tired, but after a while, you notice that the feeling of being tired just doesn’t go away. This is where burn out comes to play. You will know that you have hit burnout when you just can’t muster up the strength to do any work or accomplish anything related to your studies.

When Will I most Likely Experience Grad School Burnout?

Some of the notorious periods for experiencing burnout would be during finals, during your qualifying exam, and at the very end with your defense. If you are in a Master’s program that is non-thesis, you may experience burnout towards the end of the semester. For PhD students, you may experience it during your quals and definitely during the time you are writing a paper for publication. Towards the end of your doctorate, you will be so busy that burnout is almost inevitable. Luckily, there are ways to combat burnout.

How to Prevent Burnout in Grad School?

The first thing that you need to do when you start grad school is develop a plan on doing non-academic related things. This is just as important as working on your studies. Trust me when I say this “relaxation and recovery are the keys to productivity!” If you work yourself to the bone, you will hit burnout and this can lead to weeks, possibly months of no productivity. So, first things first, establish a schedule to incorporate fun into your life.

Your to-do list

Next thing that I want you to do to prevent burnout is make sure that your list of things to do each day is much smaller than you want. You do not need to be cramming 1000 things into your day. You will overwhelm yourself and this will definitely cause some problems. Reduce the amount of work that you want to get done. Also, remember that a grad degree is a marathon and not a sprint. You can’t complete a doctorate in a day or a week. It takes years and you need the strength and energy to complete it.

Set a Time to End the Day

There may be days where you have to be in the lab until 10 pm, but for the most part, you’ll be done by 5. Treat your studies like a day job. Work from 9 to 5 each day and then just quit. Don’t go home and do work. Don’t stay passed that time to get a little bit more work in. No, just stop. Go work out or go have fun. Call up a friend and go to the movies. Leave work at work and go enjoy your life, Try and make this a recurring thing. If you work hard during the day then 5 pm is a good cut off time anyway. This will help with the relaxation preventative measure as well.

Limit Caffeine

This one may surprise you but it is actually something that I have found causes me to burn out much quicker. I love coffee and it hurts to know it can hurt me. Caffeine somewhat boosts my productivity. After a while, I start to rely on the caffeine to keep me going. You know what that does? It doesn’t allow me to rest. When you work a ton, you may get into your lab a bit tired. This might be your body telling you to slow down. When you have caffeine, you end up perking yourself back up. This will make you productive but even more tired the next day. Repeat this cycle a few days and next thing you know, you can’t get out of your bed and you’re exhausted when you wake up. Be mindful of the caffeine consumption that you have.

What if I am Burnt Out?

So you checked off all of the boxes and determined that you have hit burnout. Now what? Well let’s go through some ways to get out of this terrible time and possibly learn from it.

Tell your adviser

Many times, the reason you got burned out was because of your adviser or the amount of work that you have to do for them. I am sure that you have done a crazy amount of work for them many times. They most likely don’t knowhow much time you spend doing stuff. They may keep giving you work, thinking that you can do it in like an hour when in reality, it takes 2 or 3 days. Talk with them. Let them know that you are overworked and really feeling unmotivated and burnt out. They will understand, I promise. They will also probably tell you t take a few days off.

Take a few days off

Mind burnout may only require a few days of just doing nothing. If it is extreme burnout where you can’t function, you’ll need more time. Towards the end of the semester, you are likely to feel the crushing effects of burnout, after this period, take a vacation. Go on a trip and leave your work at school. Vacations are a great way to get back to your old self and you’ll definitely have more motivation to work after one.

Sometimes just taking a day off to go do something fun during the week is what will get you back into things. When you are severely impacted by burnout, tell your adviser that you are going to take some time off. This is a great time to just get some sleep, catch up on Netflix, listen to your favorite book on Audible, or heck, cook your favorite food.

Sleep more

When I hit burnout after my qualifying exams, I slept in every day for about a month. I had severe burnout and needed the rest. Lately, I have been working a bit more, trying to write a paper for publication, and I have been forcing myself to sleep early. This is a great preventative measure as well as remedy for when you are burned out. Feeling well rested has made me a ton more motivated to do work. It has also resolved the bit of burn out that I was experiencing this week.

Talk with a Therapist

I will always promote therapy. This whole blog is pretty much thanks to therapy. If you are in a position where you are always burnt out and can’t really handle it, I suggest seeing a therapist. I have written extensively about my experience with therapy and how it has significantly helped me. This might be a great thing to do, especially if your insurance allows it. Sometimes the best way to get out of feeling down is talking to a licensed professional.

Final Thoughts

Burnout is common in all industries. We tend to think that working ourselves to death is a sign of strength. No, it’s not. Burnout in grad school is a scary occurrence that needs to be addressed. Burnout can lead to drop out rates increasing, mental health problems, and other medical problems. Your grad school experience should be a good one and not one filled with dread.

If you are in grad school or went to grad school, did you experience burnout? If so, can you tell us about it in the comments?

**If you or someone you know is suffering from mental health issues, I highly recommend that they seek help. Online-Therapy.com or TalkSpace.com are great ways to reach out to a licensed therapist and get the help needed. Therapy has 100% helped me and I know it can help you.