You’re Toast: 5 Tips to Avoid Burnout During the Last Stretch

It’s been over a week since my last run. Instead, I’ve cooped myself up in my room, which is starting to look more like a cave with each passing day.

As I sat here at my desk gazing fondly at the sunshine outside, I had a flashback to junior high track practice when I first started running distance. During practice, I would always run with the sprinters, trying to keep up with them during their 200 meter workout while I still had another lap to go (yeah, I’m kind of competitive). My coach would look at me and laugh, exclaiming “You’re toast!” And he was right, I was completely worn out. Although I learned to pace myself throughout years of running high school and collegiate track, I’ve kept this sixth-grade mentality in other aspects of my life. Like during these last few weeks before I graduate.

But how do you avoid burnout when you are going to classes, working on homework, finishing up your senior portfolio, working part-time, involved with student organizations and looking for a job (with the potential of possibly relocating)?

Get physical
As I mentioned before, I run to relieve stress and refocus my energy. It’s also convenient because you can just put on your shoes and hit the pavement for 30 mins. Though running is my activity of choice, there are ways you can get physical such as biking, rollerblading or even going for a quiet walk.

Take 5
…or 15. It’s easy to forget to schedule breaks when you’re in the zone. Even though you’re on a roll, you’re going to crash faster if you try to do it all at once. Pick up a magazine or book, take a shower, go play a video game, stalk your friends on facebook, or anything that takes your mind off what you’re doing for at least five minutes. You’ll feel refreshed and be better off in the longrun.

Bring on the Brain Food
A lot of my friends say they forget to eat when they get busy (not the case for me, I eat even MORE when I’m stressed, and junk food at that). However, you need to eat to keep your brain in check. There are certain foods that may enhance your productivity and brain power.

Begin the Countdown
Mark your calendar to countdown the days you have left until graduation. This will be helpful for all of you “I work best under pressure” types (I’m guilty) because you give yourself a deadline (or as I like to refer to as D-Day) to watch creeping closer and closer. It also works for those “Plan everything 3 weeks in advance” types because, well, you sorta are. The bottom line is that time management is critical when you’re working hard. It also helps put the time into perspective so you can plan accordingly in order to avoid burnout.

Let it out
Scream, cry, shout. Find a punching bag (or a pillow) or find some old papers to rip to shreds. The point I’m getting to here is that burnout can be frustrating. It’s best to let it out before it gets the best of you. If you’re more of the laid back type, you may want to sing or draw if raging out isn’t your bag.

What are some ways you avoid burnout when you are overwhelmed by school/work/life?

Are You Ready to ROCK (Your Interview)?

As graduation draws near, many soon-to-be grads are applying for internships and entry-level jobs for the summer. Many will get lucky and land an interview, spending days (or even weeks) preparing for that one-shot at making a good impression. But what do you do in that final hour before the interview?

For me, that final hour was literally a 60 minute drive left alone with my thoughts. Or rather, a perfect chance to psych myself out and over think every possible situation that could happen during the informational interview and writing/ editing test that would ensue for the next few hours.

What if I blanked on basic rules of AP Style during the editing portion? What if I had writer’s block (an illness I’ve been recovering from lately) during the writing test? What if clammed up and was completely out of character from my usual bubbly self? What if I was put on the spot and the only words that come to mind are “I don’t know?” Or even WORSE – what if one of many bodily functions blindsided me while I was there?!

As my life going down the drain flashed before me, a glint of something shiny on the floor caught my eye. Quickly I reached down, taking my eyes off the road for ONLY a second (I swear!) and struck gold: an ’80s mix CD I had compiled last summer. Immediately I popped the CD into the player and cranked the volume as loud as it would go without making my ears bleed.

Belting out the lyrics in the comfort of my car erased all of the if’s, and’s or but’s from my mind. Dance moves (though limited in the confines of a moving vehicle) and head bobs included.

Then it hit me: I am Dwight Schrute from The Office. Okay, maybe not quite, but I can at least relate. If you watch the video clip below, you will see Dwight take a moment alone in the car to vigorously listen to Motley Crue’s “Kickstart My Heart.” *I know embedding is disabled, click on it again to go to this clip on YouTube. It’s 25 seconds long. Just do it!

At this point you may be asking yourself, “Okay Mikinzie, you are a huge geek and I’m frightened to be driving on the same road as you, but what’s the point?” The point is you need to have your “thing” that will ease your nerves and put any doubts in yourself to rest. Whether that means dancing it out, meditating, writing down all of your accomplishments on paper, looking at old pictures of fond memories or even letting your voice crack to bad ’80s music is up to you. In the end, whatever you do needs to inspire self-confidence. Even if that means getting funny looks from other drivers on the highway.

What do you do to get rid of the first-interview jitters?

As some of you know, I’m a bit of a music fiend and love giving (and getting) music recommendations. Here are few songs on the playlist that I sang particularly loudly while bopping around in my purple ’95 Cavalier:

• “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” -Simple Minds
• “Burning Down the House” – Talking Heads
• “Always Something There to Remind Me” – Naked Eyes
• “I Ran (So Far Away)” – Flock of Seagulls
• “Ah! Leah!” – Donnie Iris
• “Ordinary World” – Duran Duran
• “Love Will Tear Us Apart” – Joy Division
• “Video Killed The Radio Star” – The Buggles

Edelman Saves Face with Social Media

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

PRSSA students from across the midwest and a few from across the nation.

PRSSA who??

Is this a joke?

Actually, this was no laughing matter. This was the situation we faced at Edelman on Thursday, February 11, 2010, when I attended the DePaul PRSSA Regional Activity, ‘Get in the Loop’ in Chicago, IL.

A group of 28 fellow PRSSA members and PR pre-pros led by Kellyn Wieland, VP of Special Events at DePaul PRSSA, trekked from DePaul’s Loop campus to Edelman’s agency downtown. Oo-ing and Ah-ing as we approached the skyscraper gleaming in the sunlight, we walked through the glass doors and waited to be ushered through the building. Giddy with the excitement of being at a “big” agency, we took a seat on the couches and ledges, patiently waiting to be led upstairs to the land of Edelman.

But that initial excitement turned into deep disappointment. We sat in the lobby for 45 minutes, never to be let in to the agency.

Kellyn spent the entire 45 minutes trying to call her Edelman contact, only to be asked to “come back tomorrow.” To note, Kellyn had dutifully sent email after email weeks before to confirm the visit. However, we later found out that it was the day the Edelman Trust Barometer was released and the entire agency was booked in meetings.

Sitting with 27 other restless college kids in the lobby, I decided to tweet via text from my non-smartphone to David Armano, Vice President of Edelman Digital, about the Edelman fiasco.

Even with my annoyance at the wait and confusion, I was astounded when Rick Murray, President of Edelman Digital, responded within seconds of my tweet (read from bottom to top):

Heather Crowley from Edelman HR came down to the lobby with another Edelman internship coordinator to tell us a little bit about Edelman, its internship and employment programs and to answer any questions we had about Edelman.

Had we been kicked out of the lobby like the security guards wanted, all 28 future PR pros would have not only left empty-handed, but with a bad taste in our mouths.

It still amazes me what one tweet can accomplish. Congratulations, Edelman Digital, for listening when no one else would hear us.