Student burnout

[troylu1124]

The way I avoid burning out is to prepare for school work ahead of time. Sleep helps keep sanity but the thing that helps me the most is actually having fun with friends and meeting new people through these competitions.

[JesseK]

I watch students push themselves beyond their limits every year only to realize they have yet to find their true limits. If you're feeling burned out because you've pushed yourself, good job! You young'uns can take it. It'll come in handy later in your life and all it really means is that your potential has yet to be found. Keep your grades up & push through.

As a general rule, don't sleep in - get some exercise instead.

Personally when I'm burned out I resort to one of three things:
1.) Video games like Kerbal Space Program.
2.) A robotics hobby of 3D printing obscure flying drones for air-worthiness.
3.) Check out e-books from the local library on philosophy for my career (current read: Who Owns the Future?). Usually I progress at least a chapter before bed.

[gabrielau23]

Originally Posted by JesseK

I watch students push themselves beyond their limits every year only to realize they have yet to find their true limits. If you're feeling burned out because you've pushed yourself, good job! You young'uns can take it. It'll come in handy later in your life and all it really means is that your potential has yet to be found. Keep your grades up & push through.

As a general rule, don't sleep in - get some exercise instead.

Personally when I'm burned out I resort to one of three things:
1.) Video games like Kerbal Space Program.
2.) A robotics hobby of 3D printing obscure flying drones for air-worthiness.
3.) Check out e-books from the local library on philosophy for my career (current read: Who Owns the Future?). Usually I progress at least a chapter before bed.

Well, according to some sleep research, electronics don't actually help your brain rest. While that doesn't stop me from playing them when I'm tired, sleeping and reading is usually a really good way to recharge. Also, don't let your physical body slack off either--during build season, you really drain your mental batteries, and it's important that you don't let your physical body drain too far either. You'd be surprised how much exercise can do for you in terms of energy levels. I always try to go running or biking about 3-4 weeks prior to the competitions early in the morning or stuff so that I can get in shape and not lose too much energy at competitions. They're really exhausting, and if you're in better physical shape you'll last longer and recharge faster.

[Oblarg]

Originally Posted by JesseK

I watch students push themselves beyond their limits every year only to realize they have yet to find their true limits. If you're feeling burned out because you've pushed yourself, good job! You young'uns can take it. It'll come in handy later in your life and all it really means is that your potential has yet to be found. Keep your grades up & push through.

Having experienced actual burnout due to running smack into my physical limits multiple times before, I will say that this is dangerous advice.

There is nothing wrong with testing your limits, if you are in a situation where you can deal with the consequences of finding out that they're lower than you thought. That is, don't push yourself for the sake of pushing yourself if there are important things that depend on you being in a functional state.

Stress is a a very real physiological thing and can be (potentially) very harmful over long periods of time. Do not fool yourself into thinking you can always tough it out. Treat your body's warning systems with respect; if you're feeling constantly tired, get some rest. If you need a day off, take a day off. The robot will be there when you get back; other important things things you may screw up due to burnout may not.

[Ian Curtis]

Originally Posted by NWChen

After GTR-E (for an NYC team like us, a 13-hour bus ride each way) many of our team members were exhausted and burnt out. Missing school also affected some of us academically, since we returned to all the tests and classwork we'd missed. I imagine it's even harder for teams who go to Champs and the like.

I've read the "mentor burnout" thread but it doesn't answer my question. What can students do to recover from burnout after either the build season or a competition?

I think you've got to come at the problem from the root cause. Meet less, and put safeguards in place so people don't burn out. Work expands to fill available time. It is dangerous for the sustainability of FRC if we continue to burn out our students, mentors, and other volunteers year after year. The best way to deal with burnout is to not burnout in the first place. If you aren't sick of robots at the end of a build day or build season, you're much less likely to be sick of robots after a day or two of competition. You want your team to leave the event hungry to do better things, not exhausted and sick of robots.

[beachbums]

So I personally go out with some friends after robotics on the week nights. We just drive and do whatever we want to do. Even though that mostly consists of eating food, making random videos/photos, and chilling at the beach. It is something to get your mind off school, robotics, and responsibilities. Even though we do end up talking about robotics, since we are mostly robotics kids, but we also talk about the "social lives" that we had before and after season.

[ErvinI]

Originally Posted by Kelly180

We (adults and students) have to remind each other to stay hydrated. I forgot how intense this is. Glad we had water at our pit, but not enough. So we will be bringing more. Eat a hearty breakfast, not everything at the competition goes to schedule, and sometimes it's crazy hectic.

Out of curiosity's sake, does your regional have any rules for beverages and food in the pits? I recall that there were a few instances where we were not allowed to bring food or water into the pits, although those were not strictly enforced.

[Michael Hill]

Think of this as practice for college! As the old adage goes...Sleep, Party, School: pick 2.

[NWChen]

Almost a year down the line, and with Week 1 competitions approaching, I'd just like to thank everyone who replied in this thread.

My friends and I are contending with exhaustion after our last season (as HS students), and it's important to remember that health comes first.

[dtengineering]

If students are feeling burned out in high school... wait until they have a mortgage, kids, and a demanding job. (and still want to build robots)

This isn't to say it can't happen. For many students FRC is their first opportunity to experience an infinitely difficult challenge that is matched by an intense desire to solve it. It creates a stressful and demanding environment, that is capped off by crazy 13 hour bus rides and stuff like that.

Learning to manage a stressful and demanding workload, while having a meaningful life and valuing those close to you, is perhaps more important than learning the technical skills in FRC. I know, as a mentor, I had more respect (not less) for students who would occasionally tell me, "I really want to work on the robot tonight, but it is ________ family gathering and I want to be there for my family, too." or "I'm behind in my ________ class and need to catch up for the big test in two days. I'll be back at the robot on Friday." Life is about balance, and being 100% obsessed about FRC (for more than a few weeks at a time) is not balance.

Also learn to keep an eye out for your friends and colleagues who aren't maintaining a healthy balance. Sometimes all it takes is a kind word, or an "I'll take care of that." to help them go home feeling better. Sometimes by taking a day off yourself, when you need it, you give others the license to take a day off when they need it. Leadership is often portrayed as working harder than anyone else... but leadership also is about showing balance, and leading a meaningful life.

Consider FRC like sour candy or potato chips... it tastes SOOOoooo good sometimes that you can't help but having just a little bit more. But if that is all you eat, you won't be healthy.

Jason

[asid61]

I do get tired during the season, but generally I don't burn out because of it.
I actually studied more for my Physics tests during build because I was afraid of getting a tanked grade from the build, but on the whole our class scored pretty low anyway. So there's no way for me to really gauge how much build affects me.
We stop working each day at 6:00 except for Fridays at 7:00, so there's time to do homework.
My friend has to sleep at 10:00 or he gets cranky (he admits it) so it's easy for him to know when he needs to sleep.