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You may have heard the phrase “I’m so burnt out” before. You may have said this phrase yourself – before grad school or during. This phrase certainly pops up more frequently around this time of year, with final papers, exams, and deadlines approaching. But what is burnout?

Deciding to get a masters’ degree and then a PhD didn’t change the way that I saw community engagement and service connected to my career and what I did on my own time. In fact, it might have further solidified it. In this new role as now a researcher and scholar, I see community as inexplicably tied to our work as graduate students.

When I’m starting a study session or settling into an evening class, there’s nothing I love more than doing it with a fresh cup of coffee or tea. Although my time at Starbucks is coming to an end as I will be starting my counseling practicum soon, I’d like to impart some Starbucks order suggestions and wisdom to all of my fellow graduate and professional students.

A lot of time in grad school, we talk about finding a mentor, but recently, one of my writing groups had a long conversation around us as mentors and I decided that not enough attention or conversation is given to graduate and professional students as mentors ourselves.

Whether you are just starting your graduate career or preparing to finish, as graduate students, we are all focused on preparing for our career after graduation. For many who are going to graduate school to break into a new field, this task can be more daunting than our studies, as it takes time and effort to find the perfect job, especially when each listing requires or strongly recommends 1-2 years of experience. To make sure that everyone is equipped to take the career world by storm, I am going to share tips that can help you gain experience in your field of study/industry and land your dream job.

Being a graduate student can be one of the biggest time commitments that you have ever faced. Not only is there class time, but you also have to attend countless professional development workshops, build relationships with faculty, and get through mountains of reading.

Procrastinating can also be looked at as a habitual stress relief that can be done inadvertently, hindering one’s success. It is no surprise that having the habit of procrastination affects productivity and the ability to plan ahead to achieve short-term and long-term goals.

I was held accountable, got to have mental moments of well-being with friends, at times explained what I was working on and teaching it to the architects and being taught in turn. Their questions taught me to dive deeper and find how to explain what I was reading to an audience outside my discipline, which in turn made me a better teacher of Gender Studies and History.

Meal prep is essential for us working adults (as many of us graduate students are), both to bring to our jobs and to those evening classes. Meal prep is great for many reasons–when you meal prep, you’ll be eating more nutritious food, healthier portions, and saving a lot more money than if you were eating out for these meals.

While it is enticing to stay warm under the covers and binge watch your favorite season of the Walking Dead or Scandal, consider how to use this time that would yield the greatest benefit to you academically. If you are not sure of what to do during this timeframe, consider the following ideas that can keep you engaged with your academic goals and will help you remain mentally thawed.