Burnout...A Step Towards Mental Breakdown

We have all heard the phrase "burnout" at some point, and we use it as an excuses for not finishing our tasks or assignments to our professors. I'm sure that everyone has at least once experienced burnout, but we never really pay attention to it. It's more than simply a day-long fatigue it's a long-term illness that, if left untreated, can cause a mental collapse.

During my time working with Mercedes and Red Bull while studying and managing home chores, I pushed myself to keep up with everything. Internships in such fast-paced environments demanded my focus and energy, while assignments for my A2 level in subjects like Physics and  Chemistry, took hours of mental effort. On top of this, daily chores around the house and the need to manage personal responsibilities added to the stress. Initially, I believed that I could handle it all if I just worked harder. But the pressure soon started taking a toll on me.

I realized I was burning out when the tasks that once motivated me started feeling like heavy burdens. There were days when getting through even simple assignments felt impossible. Fatigue, and a lack of focus became my constant companions lead too terrible grades and a loss of my personal time . I knew I had to make a change.

What helped me the most was developing a proper schedule. I decided to break my day into manageable chunks, dedicating specific time slots to each task, whether it was studying, internship duties, or household chores. Instead of multitasking, I focused on one task at a time. This made me more productive and also left me with free time to rest and recharge. It wasn’t an overnight transformation, but slowly, my days began to feel more structured, and I could balance my workload more effectively.  A productivity technique which i found helpful was the 1-3-5 rule , its simple but works like a well organised unit.

• List 1 task for the day which is of your utmost importance for the day , and remember its not just doing work you need to prioritise every day. Family time and enjoying a day with friends and also be of utmost importance for a day.

• List another 3 tasks which act as secondary critical and can be done after completing the critical task 

• Now list another 5 less important task that you would like to do this can be done any time of the day after you complete your critical task and it isn’t a problem if you could not complete all 5 of this less important tasks .

Setting realistic goals and taking short breaks between tasks helped me prevent burnout . Burnout doesn’t have to lead to a breakdown if you acknowledge it early on and take decisive steps to find balance in your life. By creating a healthy schedule and sticking to it, I was able to regain control over my responsibilities and avoid falling into the trap of mental exhaustion again.

-Tanay Chaskar