Burned out & lost all focus (college)

LegacyUser

Hi, I am in my final year of college and final semester with about 9 weeks left before I am done for good. I've never been a good student and I attribute this to my lack of interest in what I study. Anyway I've accepted this disinterest long ago and the time has now long passed to consider a change of direction. I am now approaching the finish line of what has been an uphill struggle over the past 3 years but I have made it this far and am so looking forward to finishing. I've done the absolute minimum over the past 2 years but since I am a bright enough individual I have somehow managed to maintain good grades along the way despite how horrible it has been. I guess I am lucky that my particular course allows for a lot of 'catch up' if you put in the work.

Since January however I have hit my worst patch ever. While I used to be able to knuckle down to assignments and study for exams, I cannot get anything going lately. I simply find it impossible to focus on reading a page full of notes. I cannot sit still in the library for 5mins, I have to get up and leave. I have always had a very active mind and think & obsess a lot about things, but lately it is off the wall. I know this sounds weird but I literally find it impossible to just think about one thing such as a college project. My mind is all over the place and my work load has piled up with nothing getting done.

I think I have has some sort of burn out and have lost any little drive I ever had. I still desperately want to finish in May and failing would be my worst nightmare but if I don't do something very soon, this could very well be the case. It goes beyond me being lazy. I can get all of my materials together, sit down in my desk and genuinely try to tackle a project but it is the overwhelming disinterest in its content that makes it so impossible for my brain to process anything.

Sorry I know I probably sound like some lazy student but I genuinely have worked very hard when needed over the past few years but something lately has just changed and the finish line is so close. Has anybody got any advice they can give? I would much appreciate any input thanks.

iMuse

Burnedout11 wrote: »

failing would be my worst nightmare

In regards to motivation, I usually use avoiding failing as the main reason to get myself motivated. "If I dont put enough hours in to get x% i will be disappointed with myself" As you said it would be your worst nightmare to fail your course. Think also that the last 3 years would have been for very little if you dont get your degree. Everyone feels pressure in college but its best if you can channel that pressure to get yourself motivated. Is there someone you can speak to in your college like a Chaplin or maybe even 1 of your lecturers?

Roxy Dreggs

Perhaps just to put a little perspective on things, maybe just take a couple days off, and go on a total bender.

Travel to amsterdam for the weekend or something, vent your system, then come back, set into the final stretch, and be done with it.

I had a similar thing going on before in my final year, but I had the fortune, in many ways, in that I actually injured myself in March, and basically could do nothing else but study.


Another suggestion might be (and I don't know if your doing it already) to get a good workout, or something that'll make you sweat - good hard run or something.

I find that can help with the focus quite a bit.

LegacyUser

I think over the past few months I have just become so disillusioned with college. It's not just my course, it is everything about the entire concept of the place. Is is all of the naive young people (and even lecturers) who think what they are doing is somewhat important when most of the time it isn't. When you are a full time student you fall in to this mindset that college is the most important thing in the world for you right now, that getting that degree is your key goal. While this is mindset that is definitely best to perform well, I just think it is all bull ****.

All of the meaningless lectures, projects, regurgitated exam sessions, and financial struggle it is all just so I can say ''I went to college and got my degree''. I know a degree is a valuable asset to have but lately I feel like college is just one big bubble and quite frankly I cannot even stand to set foot inside the place. It's like acting class or something where you go in day after day and pretend what you are doing is actually important. None of it is important and its not the real world. And whats worse is so many people think that it is. Maybe it is that I am older than most of my fellow students and have been fortunate to spend time living in other countries on my own but I just cannot buy in to college any more. It's my personal idea of hell and my life is passing me by in it. Hopefully some day I will be grateful that I spent the time getting my degree, but for now I feel like I just threw away some valuable years of my life.

Haha sorry I know this is an extremely bleak outlook and I am far from a bleak person but this quite accurately depicts my mindset and is pretty much why I have lost all focus. I do agree however that fear of failure is by far my greatest motivation and I think, or at least I hope that this will soon set it.

Roxy Dreggs

Just to throw in my tupence as far as the benefit of college to "real life".

When I was at that stage, I had absolutely no intention of using my college degree when I finished.

I basically coasted through, with my motivation being, "I'll finish my education", and "it'll be a fall back situation".

I had a completely different plan mapped out for myself.
As it happened, I got another more severe injury, and ended up falling back on my fall back situation, a lot sooner than I had anticipated.

Just having that piece of paper, on your CV, the fact that you have a degree or diploma, no matter what position you go for or what job - that makes people look at you in a different and more respected light.


Of course, life can take us on many different and unexpected paths.

My uncle, for example, dropped out of college (or maybe it was high school) and he ended up being the most successful person (money wise) of my entire extended family.

Interesting, the way it goes..

Firetrap

I was sick to the back teeth of college by the time I got to your stage. I even remember sitting in an exam hall, looking out the window at the sun shining on the leaves of trees and thinking I wanted to be out in the sunshine and really didn't want to be bothered writing a tiresome essay. I literally had to force myself to write the thing and that was in my summer exams!

Taking a break from it might not be a bad idea but don't overdo it. I see your work is piling up. How about asking some friends to study with you? They'll be focused on their studies now and maybe sitting close to them when they're working might concentrate your mind? At this stage, you need to force yourself to do what you need to do. If you have to do an assignment, try to write something. If you have anything at all done, it can only help and perhaps might catch your interest long enough to get stuck into the job in hand and get it done.