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How To Avoid Organic Chemistry Study Burnout

January 9, 2019 By Leah4sci 21 Comments

avoid organic chemistry study burnoutStudy burnout โ€“ the fatal flaw the strikes organic chemistry students

It's the week before your organic chemistry exam and you have five chapters to cover in seven days.

Plenty of time, right?

You set an ambitious schedule to cover a chapter a day for the first five days. Being the good student that you are, you start as scheduled on day one and study for hours on end. You feel accomplished but you also feel burned out.

Sound familiar?

Burnout is a very common occurrence in a course like organic chemistry since it typically requires 10-20 WEEKLY study hours. However, the burnout isnโ€™t caused by the total amount of time youโ€™ve invested in studying, it comes from the blocks of time youโ€™ve devoted to it, or the amount of time youโ€™ve studied without taking a break.

Let me explain. Your brain can focus at maximum capacity for a certain amount of time. The amount is different for everyone, but typically is 45-90 minutes (from personal experience and student feedback). Anything shorter and you abort the mission during peak performance time and lose your momentum. Anything longer and your brain begins to protest. You reach burnout mode and start forgetting more than you learn.

So, if the ideal study session lasts just 45 – 90 minutes how do you study 10-20 hours a week?

Here is an outline of a study strategy that worked for me. I challenge you to follow it for a few days, and then adjust it according to your personal needs.

Break your study sessions into blocks of 45-90 minutes.

Warm Up Time

Give your brain a proper warm-up in order to gain the most of your study session. When you first sit down to study, it takes a few minutes to really โ€œget into it.โ€ If you try to study right away, you'll find yourself reading the same paragraph a few times before you really understand it. The first few minutes must be reserved for adapting or warming up your brain for the task at hand.

Your warm-up may include skimming notes, reading something you already know, or working through practice problems that you've already mastered. Think of the warm-up as jump-starting your brain to function at high capacity. It will help you build momentum, thrust you into the new material and allow you to focus on it.

Turn off your cell phone while studyingAvoid Interruptions

Once youโ€™ve warmed up, the trick is to finish the 45-90 minute block without interruption. If you stop too quickly, your study session is too short. You've wasted a good warm-up and any additional studying that could have occurred. You are not allowing yourself to build up the proper study endurance.

Compare this to going to the gym to work out your body. A 15-20- minute workout is okay but not ideal if you're trying to get into shape. Your body needs at least 30-45 minutes of exercise for a true impact. So too, your brain. It needs a full 45-90 minute workout to get a solid command of the material.

Donโ€™t Over Study

Most organic chemistry students tend to study too long and too hard. If you push yourself beyond the 90 minutes without taking at least a short break you enter the burn-out zone.

If you study for 45-90 minutes, your brain has a chance to absorb new information and apply concepts to many practice problems. As long as your brain is functioning at maximum capacity you are able to learn

But there is a limit. There is a point where you've simply learned TOO MUCH. Any forced study beyond this point will have a negative impact. You'll get bored, you won't retain as much, and you'll start hating organic chemistry. And we surely donโ€™t want that to happen!

If you try to pack too much studying in at once you, you wonโ€™t retain as much information long term and you might feel like it was just a waste of time to study. This reminds me of the following expression that I heard a long time ago. It was probably written by some frustrated organic chemistry student!

โ€œThe more I study the more I know, the more I know, the more I forget, the more I forget the less I know, so why study?โ€

Rinse and Repeat

Study for 45-90 minutes then give your brain a break before starting the next session. Let your brain recharge and forget, temporarily, what you have just learned. If you allow yourself to forget or not think about the material, when you restudy you'll find that you retain the information so much better.

If you have time, take a proper break of about 30 minutes to an hour. Prepare and eat lunch/dinner or meet a friend at a restaurant, watch an episode of your favorite television program, run some errands, do some housework, go to the gym and get a full body work out or give your full body a rest and take a nap.

If you don't have a lot of time (perhaps a cram day), take at least a 10-minute break between sessions. Eat a snack, take a quick walk or bike ride, watch a funny YouTube video or do a couple of easy chores like walking your dog, folding laundry or cleaning dishes.

Forget About Organic Chemistry

The goal of your break is to eliminate all thoughts about organic chemistry from your head. Totally immerse yourself in another more pleasurable activity; or at least one that does not require much mental capacity, helps you relax and doesn't stress you out (Yes, washing dishes does relax some people! I personally hate doing chores, but for some reason I like washing dishes).

Now that you're recharged and refreshed, repeat the process and start another 45-90 minute study session! If you're in pre-exam cram mode and scheduling multiple sessions, be sure to vary your breaks. Perhaps do 1-2 sessions with a 10 minute break between then take a proper/longer break after 2-3 sessions.

Just think, if you follow this plan on a weekend, you can manage 12-15 hours of maximum study effectiveness, and STILL have time for chores/housekeeping, shopping, friends, and TV. And best of all, these 12-15 hours will be just as useful as 15-20 hours of non-stop studying.

Doesn't this sound much better than โ€œburning outโ€ for 10 hours at a time?

So let me ask you this โ€“ what do you find to be the ideal break activity between study sessions? Let me know by leaving a comment below

Filed Under: Study Tips Blog Tagged With: organic chemistry, study tips

Comments

  1. Terrissa says

    July 7, 2018 at 11:02 am

    Really need this the orgo burnout struggle is real

    Reply
  2. Meghan says

    November 1, 2016 at 12:34 pm

    I often workout. This particular activity relaxes & takes all the stress away… well, mostly.

    Reply
  3. Wade Joel says

    July 27, 2016 at 3:25 pm

    Chemistry can be really hard to understand. There are a lot of things that I do not understand about it. I did not know that you could study too much. Maybe that is why I didn’t understand it all.

    Reply
    • Leah4sci says

      August 10, 2016 at 9:22 am

      You’re not alone! That’s why I wanted to offer some tips; hope these help you in your future endeavors!

      Reply
  4. Nick says

    April 28, 2015 at 9:35 pm

    Do you suggest using these study tips to prevent orgo burnout when it comes to studying for the ACS organic final exam? It is cumulative from the whole year of organic chemistry (organic 1 and 2).

    Reply
    • Leah4sci says

      April 29, 2015 at 6:00 pm

      Absolutely! Since the ACS covers so much information you’re even more likely to burn out in the process

      Reply
  5. Melissa says

    April 4, 2015 at 10:17 pm

    My favorite study break is about an hour playing with my three kittens and watching them play. It’s the perfect stress reliever and mood lifter — and they are hilarious.

    Reply
    • Leah4sci says

      April 6, 2015 at 9:58 am

      I love kittens so I can only imagine how fun/relaxing that must be. My biggest fear would be forgetting the time and playing with them all day ๐Ÿ˜‰

      Reply
  6. Pique B. says

    December 9, 2014 at 4:07 pm

    Harry Potter ftw

    Reply
    • Leah4sci says

      January 5, 2015 at 8:16 am

      haha I love listening to the HP audiobooks. Again, and again and again…

      Reply
  7. Daniel says

    May 31, 2014 at 11:21 am

    browsing on the internet…facebook, reddit or youtube is best for 10 minutes.

    Reply
  8. Barbara Reid says

    May 30, 2014 at 6:08 pm

    reading and watching tv

    Reply
    • Leah4sci says

      May 30, 2014 at 6:09 pm

      Those are great break activities Barbara, though I find that when studying my brain begged for a break from reading. Then again, if you have a good book like Harry Potter… ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  9. Qiqa says

    April 18, 2014 at 9:18 pm

    I watch an episode of one of my favorite series!

    Reply
    • Leah4sci says

      April 23, 2014 at 11:20 am

      As long as you can limit yourself to a ‘single episode’ this is actually a great idea

      Reply
  10. Adriiana says

    January 27, 2014 at 2:02 pm

    Any tips for Accounting?

    Reply
    • Leah4sci says

      January 27, 2014 at 4:20 pm

      Alas… I am a science teacher. HOWEVER… if you read between the lines in my study tips posts you should find value for studying any subject. https://leah4sci.com/study-tips

      Reply
  11. pamela says

    January 9, 2014 at 12:50 pm

    This is interesting. If this is true it may have been one of my problems last semester, I always studied in long blocks and felt confused after awhile, felt like I was on the wheel with my hamsters. Thanks for another great tip Leah!

    Reply
    • Leah4sci says

      January 9, 2014 at 12:58 pm

      Love the Hamster-Wheel analysis, and you’re right. When pushing forward you’re running and running but not getting anywhere. These tips are based on my experience and feedback from students. However, YOU have to test it. Try it out for a few days and see how you feel afterwards.

      Reply
  12. Tia says

    January 9, 2014 at 12:50 pm

    Watching anime! I get the chance to catch up on series that I would otherwise miss trying to cram.

    Reply
    • Leah4sci says

      January 9, 2014 at 12:59 pm

      Now that’s what I call a good break Tia. Just make sure you limit yourself to one short episode, as a reward for an awesome study session ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply

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