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Happy Monday and welcome to your
mental health mini. 

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This week is a solo and we are 
talking college burnout. 

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What are the best ways to treat 
and address burnout in college? 

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Very common thing. 
So many students I hear at Penn 

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are struggling with burnout and 
overwhelm and stress. 

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My biggest tip here is almost 
from a prevention perspective 

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and then I'll get some tips. 
If you're like I'm already burnt

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out, there's nothing that can be
done at this point. 

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Please help me. 
If you are finding yourself more

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stressed, you're like, I'm not 
sure if this is sustainable. 

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This is a lot to handle, 
especially if you're starting a 

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new semester, a new class load, 
a new school, whatever it is. 

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I think it's essential that on a
day-to-day basis you are having 

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a sustainable balance and moving
in an upwards trajectory. 

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What I mean by that is kind of 
the 8020 role. 

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You've probably seen this on 
social media, heard it in a 

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podcast, a book, everyday life, 
whatever. 

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The idea is that 80% of the time
you are doing things that are 

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good for your most of the time 
it's from a health perspective. 

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So maybe you are getting daily 
movement, you're eating 

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balanced, you're sleeping 
enough. 

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And then the 20% is things where
you're kind of letting loose. 

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Maybe you're going out with 
friends, maybe you're staying up

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later, maybe you're watching ATV
show that you love. 

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But because you have this 80% 
continuing on the positive 

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trajectory, the 20% doesn't make
a difference in your overall 

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progress. 
You're still having a net 

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positive. 
What I found when looking back 

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at my mental health challenges 
and when I was at my lowest, my 

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80% was these really 
overwhelming, exhausting 

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negative mental health 
experiences. 

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And the 20%, if it was even 20%,
was like, oh, this made me 

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happy. 
Today was great. 

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I just had a positive thought 
about myself and so I was 

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constantly regressing with 
respect to my mental health. 

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So from a burnout perspective, I
think it's very important to 

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structure your day and your week
to keep you on that upwards 

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trend. 
So maybe that's your morning 

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routine. 
I make my bed, I do it every 

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single day and it makes it a 
really enjoyable experience to 

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be in my room because I'm like, 
wow, everything looks so nice 

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and organized and tidy. 
I brush my teeth, I wash my 

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face, then I make a cup of 
coffee. 

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One of my biggest 
recommendations for college 

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students is to have a great in 
room coffee set up because 

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coffee is so expensive and 
something that brings me joy 

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every single morning. 
So maybe that's your morning to 

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routine, maybe that's your night
routine. 

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I'm finishing up school work. 
I will shower and then I will 

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watch TV before I go to bed. 
And I know that you're probably 

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like, why are you doing that? 
Isn't that the worst thing you 

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can do for your mental health? 
So I did an interview this past 

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year. 
It's episode 104. 

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It's with Heather Turgeon and 
Julie Wright. 

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And I talked about this idea of 
watching something before you go

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to bed. 
And they brought up something 

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super interesting that I hadn't 
necessarily thought about 

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before, which is that I forget 
what they called it. 

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You can listen to the episode, 
but it's like a mindless 

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background noise essentially is 
what it is. 

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So some people listen to a 
meditation while they will go to

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sleep. 
Sometimes they listen to right 

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noise, some people will do like 
a self-guided meditation, some 

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people will breed. 
I am someone who cannot shut 

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their brain off. 
But I found when I watch one of 

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my favorite shows like The 
Office or Big Bang Theory, 

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specifically those two that I've
seen many many many times, I 

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know what's going to happen and 
it works really well for me. 

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And it means that I can fall 
asleep within like 20 to 30 

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minutes rather than hours. 
Sleep is one of the biggest 

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determinants of mental health, 
especially for me. 

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So I would be getting like 8 
hours every single night, non 

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negotiable. 
I would also make sure I'm 

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getting some kind of daily 
movement. 

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So maybe you're taking a walk 
every day, maybe you're working 

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out. 
You're doing all these things to

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improve your mental health in 
ways that you can control it. 

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You are setting up your study 
schedule so that you're not 

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completely overwhelmed and 
cramming for every single exam. 

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You're doing a little bit of 
your readings every day rather 

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than trying to sit down for six 
hours and do all your textbook 

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readings at one time. 
So you are planning a day to 

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make sure that that 80% is 
solved for and you are kind of 

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almost in control of that. 
And then the 20%, which is the 

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stress associated with school, 
maybe you get in an argument 

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with a friend, maybe you don't 
sleep well one night. 

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Yes, you will experience those 
challenges. 

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Those will lead to more stress, 
but they won't derail your 

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mental health and you won't be 
completely burnt out because 

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again, you are on that upwards 
trajectory and getting better 

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with your ability to cope with 
stress and life. 

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So that's my advice there. 
Be very mindful of what is 

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improving your mental health and
improving your mood and ability 

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to cope with stress and what is 
not. 

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And really optimize for that 80%
and be intentional. 

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If you are fully burnt out at 
this point, I go back to that 

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idea of the vacation retreat. 
Take a day, take a weekend, and 

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truly unplug. 
Don't study, don't open the 

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textbook. 
Do whatever it is that will 

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recharge you mentally. 
Maybe you're going to sleep in, 

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maybe you're going to spend time
with friends, maybe you're going

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to go on a walk, maybe you're 
going to go to the gym. 

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But whatever it is that has 
stressed you out to the point of

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burnout, you need to completely 
take a step away from that for a

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short period of time. 
Because if you're like, oh, I'm 

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so burned out, I'll study for 
one less hour today. 

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I honestly don't think that's 
going to make a huge difference 

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in the stress that you're 
experiencing. 

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So see if you can try and 
structure in that break that 

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unplugging from whatever it is 
that is making you stressed, and

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then start to make shifts 
towards that 8020 balance and 

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make those improvements long 
term. 

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I would also ask for help. 
If you are really burnt out, 

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it's going to be difficult to 
keep up with your coursework. 

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It's a lot to stay on top of 
classes in college. 

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So loop in a friend, loop in a 
teacher, talk to a therapist, 

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parent, a family friend. 
Tell someone that you're feeling

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really overwhelmed and that 
you're feeling really stressed. 

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Because if you're burnt out, 
it's not unlikely that your 

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mental health will start to 
struggle as well. 

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So loop someone in, ask for 
help, see if they have any 

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advice. 
Maybe you're approaching 

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coursework and effectively maybe
you are doing all the readings 

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when you really only need to be 
doing readings for two classes 

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because the other ones aren't 
tested on. 

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Really ask around, see if you 
can learn from others 

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experiences and get support and 
take a more collaborative 

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approach. 
If you enjoyed this weeks mental

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health mini, you can listen to 
the full episode. 

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It is episode 135 featuring 
yours truly. 

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The link to the full episode is 
in the show notes. 

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As always, make sure to leave a 
review, subscribe, share with a 

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friend or family member and 
follow it at Cheapers to 

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podcast. 
Thanks for listening.