Debate Advice: Avoiding Burnout
By: Jessa Glassman
Jam-packed school weeks full of quizzes and tests followed by tournaments where sleep is a rarity are all too familiar for many of us. This endless cycle of missing school, making up work, missing more school and making up more work becomes reality the second the season starts. As debaters, students and teenagers it seems like the grind really never does stop and the gears in our heads are always turning- threats of college, completing the qual, maintaining our grades and social pressures are always looming. For competitive debaters, the results of this can be devastating in more ways than one.
The all-encompassing outcome is burnout. With a lack of sleep, time away from computer screens and textbooks, and time spent hanging out with friends, it's easy for debate to become your worst enemy. And yes, there is a spillover effect. Feeling intense exhaustion from a combination of school and debate will probably affect your studies and other aspects of your life, making naps seem more appealing than studying or other plans as you try to catch yourself back up.
The solution seems simple- take a weekend or two off. But, it’s on you to make missing a tournament productive for yourself. If you’re hanging out with your family, spending the whole time Facebook messaging a teammate at a tournament to help them construct a 1NC or refreshing Tabroom every 15 minutes for results won’t give you the breath of fresh air you truly deserve and need to make your break productive.
Finding ways to balance social life and time for self-care is also crucial. Creating a healthy relationship with Netflix that rewards hard work with an episode or two of your favorite show rather than split screening frontlining with TV for 5 hours on end will not only separate work and relaxation and give your brain a break, but it will also likely make your work more productive.
Finally, make sure you are happy. Taking on too many responsibilities is all too common among the overachievers that make up a large population of the debate community. Don’t sacrifice your mental health or overall wellbeing for anything- be it that one extra hard class or keeping up an intense practice and tournament schedule.