If you’re a student who feels like your cup is overflowing, you might need to take a long break from studying. And by long, I mean a few weeks to months.
I understand this might not be feasible for you if you attend a traditional university. But if you have flexibility over your schedule (online school), please consider it.
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Why I Took a Long Break from Studying?
I took a 5-month break. Although, in the beginning, I didn’t realize it would last this long. It only felt normal to take a break after completely neglecting my mental health and filling my brain with knowledge I probably will forget in a year.
In retrospect, taking these five months off has been the best thing I could’ve done for myself.
I became a freelance writer and editor, learned more about the writing industry than I ever would have, focused on my own wants and needs, and learned stuff that will genuinely hold me in good stead for the rest of my life.
I should also mention that although I took a break from studying my course curriculum, I did not take a break from learning.
I learned so much about personal development and how to live healthier. You can say I swapped out traditional learning for the learning that actually matters.
And I would recommend taking an extended break to every student. Here are six reasons you should consider it:
1. You have time to reconnect with yourself
As a student, you tend to forget that you’re a living, breathing human with a heart and brain that is allowed to think about different things other than their coursework.
Sometimes I can’t believe how much time I’ve spent not thinking about myself but rather about my exams. It’s sad the way we equate life to university grades. And this is probably why so many students face depression.
There is something wholly wrong about young people placing greater importance on their degrees and careers and forgetting they have a life to live – forgetting that an entire world lies outside textbooks.
And it’s so easy to lose sight of this when you are buried in textbooks, facing the pressure of exams. You forget that you are a person with dreams that should be exploring other facets of the world. If you don’t, you will get to the end with a qualification in hand and realize that you wasted so much time poring over books when you should have lifted your head and enjoyed the view.
When you take a long break from studying, you have more time and energy to:
- Focus on yourself.
- Get to know yourself better.
- Enjoy your own company more.
Here are a few things you can do when taking a long break from studying:
- Spare more time for your hobbies.
- Go on a holiday, or just take a walk around the block.
- Start a passion project.
- Invest your time in self-improvement.
One day when you’re older, I guarantee you won’t be thinking about that one course you attempted in university. You’d be thinking about all the precious experiences you missed and the chance to get to know yourself because your head was too wrapped up in the false hope of “grades.”
2. You’ll have the time and energy to focus on your relationships
Besides forgetting that we exist, our relationships take 3rd place to exam preparations and course schedules. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve said no to going out with my friends because I “needed to study.” Eventually, that became my default excuse for never wanting to go out.
It’s so sad that we choose college over our relationships. But by taking this much-needed break, you’ll only have more time and energy to spend with your friends and family – without feeling fear or pressure.
3. You can explore other career avenues
Your worldview becomes very narrow when you’re hyper-focused on an area of study.
For example, I had no idea that a world outside of accounting existed. Actually, I did; I just didn’t have the time to explore my creative side. But when I took a break after undergrad, I realized creativity lay waiting for me.
These realizations can only come by taking a break.
And as I’ve mentioned before, take a break from studying, but never stop learning. This means that you can take other courses, explore different career avenues, or try learning a skill you didn’t have the time for. It could become a passion project or something you’d like to do full-time someday. But you’ll never know until you try.
Take a photography course, volunteer, or start a blog! That’s what I did, and it’s the best thing I could’ve done for myself. But as I said, while I was studying, this was not a possibility for me. I was too consumed by my textbooks and wouldn’t have been able to sustain a blogging habit.
4. You can recharge mentally and physically
Studying is draining – mentally and physically – and some will argue emotionally too.
You invest hours and hours into something, and sometimes it doesn’t pay off. You fail or don’t receive an instant reward – like a salary.
Or you compare yourself to your peers and worry about what your family thinks of you because you didn’t perform to their expectations.
All of this can be emotionally draining and lead to negative thinking. Therefore, if you are in this position where studying has taken a toll on your mental health – you need to take a step back.
I won’t insist that you “stay positive” or “hang in there” because I know this isn’t easy when you’re in the throes of student depression. But you can take tiny steps in the right direction.
The things that helped me are writing my feelings, reading other personal development bloggers, going on a spiritual journey, and being true to myself. The journey isn’t easy, but once you make that effort, it becomes more manageable.
I also recommend signing up for Listenable, as they offer incredible self-love and mental health courses. In fact, I wish I had known about these courses when I was an undergrad – I could’ve prevented the major depression I went through.
5. You can re-evaluate your goals
A study hiatus allows you to re-evaluate your goals. You should be able to ask yourself, “Is this what I want?”
Too often, we get magicked into a mesmerizing hold with our studies. It’s like we’re wearing blinkers and can see nothing else except this field of study. But we don’t realize that we’re changing every day, and it’s only normal for our goals to change too.
So, reflect and re-evaluate your long-term vision. Mine certainly has changed over the last few months. I’m sure yours will, too, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Don’t feel guilty if you do realize that you want something else. It’s always better to figure it out now than ten years later when you’re stuck in a job you hate.
Final Thoughts – Don’t feel guilty for taking a break
As students, it’s only normal for us to feel guilty when taking a break – we feel like failures, or like we’re too lazy in a world driven by productivity. However, you’re not quitting; you’re just taking a break.
I also believe that you’ll return to your studies feeling refreshed and more certain of where you’re supposed to be in life. And you’ll enjoy studying more too.
It should be normalized for students to take these long breaks more frequently. Because as great as short study breaks are, burnout is still unavoidable. And you can’t really be one with yourself during that short time.
But what happens if you attend a traditional university and don’t have the pleasure of taking a long break?
As somebody who has also attended a traditional institution, I understand your lack of control over time.
If you don’t have a flexible schedule, taking months off studying won’t be possible. But it is possible to utilize your summer/winter break to the best capacity.
Use that time to focus on yourself and re-evaluate your goals. Or you can also take a week or two off from studying while on campus.