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There’s no getting around it: when the year draws to a close, there can be quite a bit to grapple with.

This can range from:

• Approaching annual deadlines
• Being unable to get good sleep
• Low energy levels and lack of motivation
• The feeling of being unable to keep up with multiple commitments; writing examinations, planning holiday activities, maintaining healthy relationships with family, friends and colleagues
• Anxiety over the year’s highs and lows; report-back meetings with your bursary sponsor or family about your 2022 performance; planning for the following year 

This time of the year can also make you rush to wrap up your coursework and commitments, and go bask in holiday mode.

After all, this is the perfect time to recharge your batteries after a full year on the grind.

Watch out for academic burnout (symptoms and tips to recover)

Academic burnout is characterised by mental, emotional, and/or physical exhaustion. Followed by a lack of inspiration and decreased performance standards, and sometimes, negative feelings towards self.

And just as you have come to know, stress, pressure and tertiary education go hand-in-glove. Handling the demands of lectures, writing papers and submitting projects, and of course, preparing for exams comes with unique challenges. 

Collectively, all these responsibilities and expectations can get overwhelming. This can cause you to shut down.

What do the symptoms look like?

If your bout of fatigue goes unchecked, the harmful effects may change how you usually function. Here’s how you can spot the signs:

• Loss of appetite
• Absent-mindedness or being unable to keep concentration
• Trouble with falling or staying asleep for more than a few nights
• Feeling emotionally depleted and detached from work and people
• Exhaustion – the inability to pull off basic tasks such as jumping out of bed to face the world
• The loss of your get-up-and-go attitude in some parts of your life such as study/work or relationships
• Physical illness and symptoms such as light-headedness, chest pains, headaches or abdominal tension/unease

What can you do to get over the slump?

If you — or another person you know — is on the brink of a breakdown, try to:

• Seek help from other people
• Make relaxation a priority. Get plenty sleep. Make a conscious effort to stay away from electronic devices. Go meditate, play sports or dive into a hobby that you loved as a kid.
• Open up about your struggle to a person you completely trust – a friend, family member or colleague.
• Never over-apply yourself. Learn to say NO to some requests of your time that come your way.
• Write a list of commitments that stress you out a lot. And next to each one, indicate ideas on how you might minimise the stressors.
• Socialise outside of your regular circles or visit new places. New interactions and experiences might give you a fresh perspective on your work and lifestyle as a whole.

Eat the elephant one semester at a time

Think like a project manager to develop a healthier relationship with your responsibilities.

Just as a bandleader conducts musicians, a project manager leads a team of professionals. In this case, it’s your duty to manage yourself, your coursework and life efficiently.

Below are four tips you can implement to transform your relationship with your work:

1] Set aside dedicated time slots for planning

Make room for thirty minutes to one-hour sessions each weekend. Plan out what you need to do in the upcoming week. Don’t allow any interruptions to get in your way — multitasking is right at the top of that list. Connect deeply with your work.

The time spent on strategy and scheduling will determine how efficient you become for the week, for the year, for your entire course, and for your career.

2] After finishing each project, test or exam, evaluate your performance

Look at areas where you experienced roadblocks. Come up with proactive solutions on how you will avoid them next time.

3] Write everything down

As a project manager (you and the schoolwork being the project), you constantly handle new information and juggle various tasks. 

To manage all that effectively, write notes. Do this daily. Don’t rely on your memory. Keep a notebook and use a digital notepad — this allows you to access your second brain from any device, anywhere.

This habit provides a reliable reference to visit when you forget any details for your work.

4] Take care of you – set boundaries

Efficient students know that when they draw up work plans for their tasks, they create space to meet deadlines.

Set clear boundaries (in both your personal and professional life) and stick to them. This will help you perform at peak efficiency and avoid burnout.

Bonus tip:

Don’t run from difficult conversations. 

For example, leaving unanswered communication leads to misunderstanding and eventually, conflict and frayed relationships. For example, when you have an upcoming end-of-year report-back meeting with the organisation (or individual/s) funding your studies, prepare for it like you do your exams. 

Lead with honesty. Take full accountability for your responsibilities and expected deliverables.

Do not hide. This shows character and why you deserve the growth opportunities that are being presented to you.

And please, remember this: it’s not unusual to face emotional, physical and mental challenges due to the hard work you put into your hustle.

Overall, accept what has been of the year, take a deep breath, and celebrate how far you’ve come and start thinking about how to navigate the following year.

All the best with everything that you touch ;).

Like any other year, when the year ends, we begin to reflect. Are you energized for the year that was? Did you experience any life-changing achievements? Stressed by all the outstanding tasks that still need to be completed before the year ends? Disappointed by unattained goals or healing from scars? Most importantly, how are you managing the year coming to an end?

The last couple of months of the year is always busy for everyone. If you’re a student, you’re completing final assignments and preparing for exams or if you’re an employee, you’re wrapping up projects, preparing year-end reports, and making plans for the upcoming 12 months. Add to that the potential stress of family get-togethers and festivities over the holidays, so it’s easy to see how stress levels can start to soar.

While a bit of stress over short periods can improve your performance, high levels of stress that last for longer than a couple of days can have a serious impact on your body and mind. Symptoms of stress include head, neck, and backache; low energy levels; anxiety and depression; forgetfulness; and irritability. And when you’re experiencing one or more of these symptoms, it’s not too long before both your personal and professional life and or academic start to suffer. So, how can you better manage everything and keep your sanity?

Fortunately, there are several ways to handle year-end stress. Keep the following tips in mind:

Learn how to manage other people’s expectations of you

After altering your own expectations, learn how to manage other people’s expectations of you. Talk to some of your colleagues, friends, and family members about the real expectations that can be completed before the year ends. And if there are some unrealistic expectations that you have identified and would like to either shift to the following year or delegate, be transparent about that.

Break down tasks into bite sizes

One of the biggest stressors is the size of what you have to accomplish. Sometimes just viewing the lists of what we need to do can be massive but it is always about perspective. If possible, break down those big tasks into smaller tasks that can be achieved. This is to help us feel a sense of accomplishment so that we are not overwhelmed.

Do something you enjoy every day. 

Set aside 30 minutes to an hour for an activity you love, such as reading, listening to music, playing your favourite sport, or meeting with a friend. This can help you relax and increase your resilience to stress.

Practice self-care

We tend to put all of our projects and others ahead of us during the end of the year mad rush to get it all done. Don’t do this. You’ll be better equipped to handle stress if your mind and body are healthy. Eat healthy food, drink plenty of water, exercise, and get enough sleep.

The end of the year comes with celebrating various holidays and welcoming in a brand-new year. It should be a time of joy and yet; it often comes with the stress of having too much to do and not enough time to get it all done. Following some of these tips might just help you get your energy back and enjoy this holiday time and ringing in the New Year.

Hurry up and submit your application for the 2023 academic year!

While we prepare to round off 2022, the opportunity to submit your university application is fast approaching.

And we have to say … there’s a slight chance that you might not find your preferred institution open. Some schools closed off their application windows between July, August, September and October.

But good fortune is on your side.

Below is a list of universities that still have their 2023 application processes open:

University of South Africa (UNISA)

Applications for Unisa’s Graduate School of Business Leadership postgraduate diplomas:

30 November 2022

Master’s & Doctoral qualifications:

14 November 2022 (some exceptions apply)

More information, here

University of the Free State (UFS)

Applications Close: 

1 November 2022 (Fine Arts)

Rhodes University (RU)

• Undergraduate programmes: 30 November 2022
• Postgraduates: 15 December 2022
• Masters & PhD’s: 6 November 2022

For more information, click here.

University of Fort Hare (UFH)

Applications Close: 

30 November 2022

University of Cape Town (UCT)

GSB Exchange Programmes:

MBA Exchange: 15 May 2022 and 15 November 2022

MIM Exchange: 1 July 2022 and 15 November 2022

University of Limpopo (UL)

Applications Close:

30 November 2022

Tshwane University of Technology (TUT)

Applications Close:

30 November 2022

Durban University of Technology (DUT)

Applications Close:

31 November 2022

Walter Sisulu University of Technology and Science

Applications Close:

30 November 2022

University of Mpumalanga (UMP)

Applications Close:

• All other Undergraduate Programmes: 30 November 2022
• Honours Programmes, Advanced Diplomas and Postgraduate Diplomas: 30 November 2022
• Masters Programmes: 15 January 2023
• Doctoral Programmes – 15 January 2023