Burnout

Burnout. Something an artist may reach at one point or another. In fact, everyone has the
potential to reach burnout in their life at one point. So, what is burnout?

Burnout —a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by

prolonged or repeated stress—is not simply a result of working long hours. The cynicism,
depression, and lethargy that are characteristic of burnout most often occur when a person
is not in control of how a job is carried out, at work or at home, or is asked to complete
tasks that conflict with their sense of self. - Psychology Today

Sound familiar to anyone? I’m sure many of you are feeling burned out right now in school. For
this week, I want us to learn how to combat burnout. One way to do this is to have another hobby
that we can escape to when we are feeling this way. Another is by taking a break and stepping
away from everything. Remember my letter, you have to make time to have breaks as well!

For this week you are to pick ONE of the following:

1. Participate in some yoga! Here are examples of some great videos I like to watch when I
need some down time:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7AYKMP6rOE&t=2s
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJbRpHZr_d0
2. While it may sound childish, coloring can be a wonderful way to relax. Sometimes when
we’re feeling stressed we like to do something we did when we were kids that makes us
feel more at home and calm. Below you’ll find a few coloring pages. You can print these
out, color them through a device online, or find your own coloring pages!
- https://www.justcolor.net/nature/landscapes/?image=landscapes__coloring-
heavenly-landscape__1
- https://www.justcolor.net/nature/coloring-animals-insects/?
image=insectes__coloring-bee-and-honey-Arwen-1__1
3. Do a few theatre warm ups! Things like shaking it out or mastering a hard tongue twister
are such great accomplishments.
 - Lift your right arm and shake it out five times. Then lift your left arm and shake it
out five times. Lift your right leg and shake it five times and the same with your
left. Then, do everything 4 times, then 3, then 2, then 1, then shake everything
out.
- This one I love to do when I’m writing long papers or using my brain a lot: shake
your right hand and your left foot at the same time. This gets your brain to focus
on something else and relaxes you out.
- https://www.masterclass.com/articles/7-acting-warmups-games-and-techniques-
for-actors#7-acting-warmups-for-actors
- https://wiki.uiowa.edu/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=88131858
4. Any hobby of your choice. Painting, drawing, writing, playing a sport, playing an
instrument, playing a videogame for one hour uninterrupted, etc!

To turn in your assignment you will do the following based on the activity you picked:
1. If you chose Yoga, tell me what video you watched or send me the link to a different
video you watched!
2. If you colored, take a picture and show me!
3. If you did a theatre warm up, tell me which one.
4. If you did one hour of an uninterrupted hobby, tell me what hobby you participated in.

You will also need to complete any assignments you have a “0” for in the gradebook. I will
send out emails Monday morning listing what work I am missing from you.

All assignments from weeks 1-4 are due on Friday with no late work to be accepted after that.

Have a good and relaxing week!