Working full-time and going to school is pretty much like working 60-80 hours a week, so breaks are definitely appreciated.  Many weekends are also consumed by school which means burnout is running high by the last quarter of the semester for me.  I have this routine that I do during the breaks and it goes like this: 1) spend time with my wife who I have been neglecting the past semester; 2) have beers with my friends that I have been neglecting the past semester; 3) rest; and 4) do something to emotionally recharge myself to get rid of the burnout.

Items 1 through 3 are fairly easy to accomplish, but item 4 takes some creativity.  Much like an artist needs to step away from the painting for awhile to renew inspiration and to reflect on what the artist has been doing, so should the student.  Forgive me for being so abstract, I’ll try to relate this to my own experience.  During law school, I was required to read thousands of pages of law books during the semester.  So, during the breaks between semesters I read business books, traveled, played x-box, or just enjoyed life.  Not only was I emotionally recharged for another semester, I subconsciously applied my newly acquired legal knowledge to the real world.

In my current MBA program, I have spent a majority of my time on the internet researching for classes, posting to discussion boards, and collaborating on group projects with classmates.  Not only did I have burnout from school, but I needed to get away from the internet as well.  My escape was northern Brazil where finding internet access was about as easy as finding a parking spot in a crowded mall right before Christmas.  I stepped back from my painting or learning of international business and began to experience it for 3 weeks.  (I would post a picture of me in Brazil lying in a hammock under a palm tree, but I was just too busy filling my glass with ice-cold beer to take a picture.)

One word of advice about breaks, I have known people who have chosen to extend their breaks.  Maybe some of you reading this blog chose to do that as well.  Of the people that I knew who took extended breaks, many never returned as planned.  Many wanted to; they just found it more and more difficult the more time that passed.