How to Prevent Burnout

 Another way to be productive is to take breaks in between while working. Many people misunderstand the idea of taking a break and at times consider it being lazy or causing you to regress in terms of your progress. Yet taking short breaks in between will prevent you from burning out in the long run. 

Scientifically, it is  proven that an individual cannot focus and at the same time be productive for over an hour. Therefore, I suggest you to follow the 50 minute rule. In other words, work hard for 50 minutes straight and put away all distractions and once you hit the  50 minutes mark immediately drop whatever you are doing and take a break. 

Also, science proves that doing at least one thing a day that gives you pleasure helps release endorphins and prevent burn out. It gives a person  something to look forward at the end of the day. A couple examples can be getting a foot massage, going to watch a movie, or shopping for new seasonal clothes. On the outside it may seem that you are not progressing towards your goal quick enough, yet in l hindsight it will sustain you in the long run. 

I can attest to this from personal experience. I was training to become a professional dancer my entire life and eventually moved to a boarding arts high school in Interlochen, Michigan. 

Every single day had to go as planned for me. I would train six hours a day and on top of that 

train three more hours all by myself in a cold, dark studio. 

My day would not end there, I would require myself to finish my homework before returning to my home and would almost never tak
e breaks in between my schedule. Yes, I did progress, improve, and I was becoming a better dancer by the dY- as everyone knows, hard work pays off. Yet little did I know that I was getting one step closer each day from burning out. My health had declined at its worst, and I was given instruction to return home. I was not able to finish my senior year of high school and was unable to attend university right away. 

From this lesson, I have come to learn the importance of pacing yourself to enhance prolonged recovery. It would be an unwise decision to speed down the highway 100 miles per hour as the potential consequence would be catostrophic. Same applies to us, we have to be pace ourselves, at times stepping on the break to acheive long term goals.