Nickel's Declassified School Survival Guide: Burnout Edition

Once upon a time, I had the same haircut as Coconut Head from Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. Yes, I was 12 years old. Yes, we will NOT be sharing photos of me looking like Coconut Head. But that is not why this blog is titled this.

Courtesy of Nickelodeon Productions

Basically, March has got me absolutely exhausted. But in, like, the best way possible. Meaning, it's PEAK MUSICAL SEASON BABYYYYYYY

My high school production of Newsies is at its final week and our shows begin this Wednesday, so stress levels are through the roof. I've been getting an average of 4 hours of sleep every day and only 2 out of usually 5 assignments done at night. The rest of the assignments are usually done at 4:00am and/or lunch (grrr lab days).

Needless to say, I'm sort of a mess. But it's well worth the time! I couldn't be prouder of this production and all of the hard work the cast, pit, and crew has put in.

Courtesy of Alexa Dela Cruz

The only other downside besides being tired beyond belief is the fact that everything smells like sweaty feet when you step into the dressing room. And I'm referring to the girls' dressing room.

Gross. Totally TMI.

Anyway, for me, being put under this kinda stress as a youngster can go one of two ways: the second I'm relieved of that stress, I get tremendously ill, or I just explode.

I think I'm nearing that point of The Explosion which I am really trying NOT to do because trust me,  it is not a cute look.

Literally 3 days ago I was wearing my makeup after a long night of Newsies rehearsal as I was FaceTiming my grandma with my mom. It went a little something like this:

Me: Hi Mama! Don't worry this is just makeup on my face. We're supposed to look dirty because we're playing newsboys that work on the streets so I put fake dirt on my face.

Grandma Lourdes: Oh, I see. Are those eyebags fake too?

And I was absolutely stunned. My grandma just totally ROASTED me. I don't think she meant to but she really got me there.

So, how do you avoid getting completely annihilated by your grandmother and just save yourself from exploding from stress? To be honest, I don't even know, but I've learned from my many, many mistakes and have curated a list of small, tiny things that people tend to overlook when they're stressed out but totally help out in the long run.

Hence, Nickel's Declassified School Survival Guide: Burnout Edition. LETS GOOOO

Peaceful Rains and Rolling Waves 

Courtesy of Sanrio

You're probably like, "Nickels, what the heck does this mean? Just... Hang out in the rain?"

No, that's not what I mean, HAHAHA

Whenever I'm stressed and I know I need to get something done but my brain just won't focus, I listen to nature sounds. I don't know why this helps me, but it just makes me feel so in tune with myself and I can really get the gears going when I just have this surrounding sound of waves or pattering rain.

Usually, I use the Nature Sounds Playlist by Spotify, but really, you can just look up rain sounds, beach sounds, rain forest sounds, etc. on any music platform of your choosing.

If you find that the nature noise isn't your jam, my second favorite playlist for relaxing the mind while I do homework is Soft Beats by Epidemic Sounds. Because of this playlist, I have pretty much become obsessed with Felix Johansson Carne.

Just creating a peaceful ambiance in a chaotic world helps out a lot. Trust me, I have two 7-year-old brothers that are almost ALWAYS screaming at the top of their lungs at 10:00pm, so just a little bit of peace goes a long way.

Forest

Courtesy of Seekrtech

"Nickels, I thought you just talked about nature sounds?"

Yes, I did, but Forest is actually a really cool app! I use it all the time because my time management is absolute garbage and it definitely helps me stay motivated.

Personally, I am one of those kinds of people that when they feel stressed, they tend to give up and just choose to scroll mindlessly on Instagram and Twitter because I don't want to face the issue at hand.

Clearly, that is soooo unhealthy. I'm really just making more problems for myself by pushing off and procrastinating everything I need to do. But I know you're thinking, "Me too..." because this problem is #relatable!!

Anyway, Forest (and other productivity apps, but this one is just my favorite) helps prevent me from straying away from my tasks. Basically, you set up a certain time limit and from the moment you begin the countdown until it hits 00:00, you grow a tiny little tree for your tiny little forest. However, in that time span, you can't open a different app or else your little tree dies!

And we wouldn't want that, now would we?

I love using this app and building my own forest while also staying on track with my assignments. Using Forest, I am just a little less of a phone-obsessed mess than I normally am and it really just reduces my stress in the long-run. Plus, they have a little button where it plays nature sounds too if you liked that tip!

Unfortunately, it costs $1.99 on the Apple Store but for you lucky Android users like myself, it is, in fact, free on Google Play (though, there are in-app purchases)! Go plant some little trees!

Social Media Cleanse

Courtesy of Instagram

Speaking of being on Instagram and Twitter, at the beginning of this school year, I went on a total social media cleanse. And OH MY GOSH was it one of the best decisions I've ever made.

I deleted Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, and Pinterest for during all of September, October, and some of November, and I felt such a weight come off my shoulders.

Social Media adds such an unnecessary stress on people to act and look a certain way and I remember feeling so distraught every time I opened Instagram before I went on the cleanse because my mind just was not having it. It was such an overwhelming feeling, even though I don't remember exactly why I felt that way. Probably because it was a mixture of practically everything, like feeling like you're being left out of the loop (whether it be on trends or with your friends) or like you're not good enough or pretty enough.

If you can, please take a step away from social media apps for even a week or two and see how it makes you feel.

Even if I was literally 3 months behind on all the funny TikTok trends, I really did benefit from not having that kind of stress in my life. Thinking about it now, I might have to follow my own advice with this tip again AHHHH

Nap, Work, Eat, Work, Play

Courtesy of DreamWorks Animation

It shocks me how people just push on through homework or any other activity they need to do without taking a break. I know I said earlier that Forest helps me stop straying away from tasks, but taking necessary breaks is a WHOLE NOTHER STORY.

If you're feeling burnout and mentally/physically drained, you gotta take a break, whether it means napping, eating, or doing something you love like drawing or reading. When I asked my friends what they liked to do when they take breaks in between work, school, etc. one of my friends said, and I quote, "I scream at the top of my lungs everyday". So I mean, the possibilities are endless!

The proof...

But in all seriousness, your physics grade is not going to hate you if you take a 20-minute break to nap or get a snack. Instead, your body will thank you for not totally overloading it for hours on end.

Pace yourself and take breaks, and I can assure you, your grandmother will not come roasting you because you look like a trainwreck.

There she is, folks! A few basic but essential tips to surviving your next stress-induced explosion.

It's times like these where I'm like, man, I should really take my own advice. But ya know, nobody's perfect, I gotta work it again and again till I get it right. Hehe... ;)

Until next time,

Nickels :)