Best Practices

The 2026 Honors Senior Cohort did a qualitative and quantitative study on Involvement and Burnout in Doane Students. As a result of that research, the cohort created the following documents to assist in avoiding burnout:

Online Burnout Assessment Tool

Setting goals during a beginning-of-the-year retreat is a great way for your organization to get started. Setting aside time for your group to sit down and think about what is important, what people want to accomplish, and envisioning the future of the group is crucial to goal setting. If you know you need to set some goals, but know you don’t need to plan a full retreat, set aside some time during a meeting to talk about goals!

Keep in mind that you’re aiming for SMART goals!

S – Specific or Significant

M – Measurable of Meaningful

A – Attainable or Action-oriented

R – Relevant or Rewarding

T – Time-bound or Trackable

If you notice that you’ve set a goal that isn’t SMART, simply go back in and add some more detail.

Long-Term Goals

Brainstorm

The goals don’t need to be decided all at one time. Take time to think about everything and keep a running list of the things that come up. You can suggest a time when you can all go over everything and actually set some goals at a later time.

Write It Down 

Put them somewhere that you can see them periodically so that they are always on your mind. If you are leading your organization, sometimes it comes down to you to remind your fellow members about the goals that you decided on. 

Cover Everything

Include every aspect of your organization – future careers for members, educational benefits, social aspects, public or campus service, etc.

The Big Picture 

Get a discussion going about what your group wants to achieve in the next few years in your organization. They can be small dreams or huge aspirations, but think about all of the possibilities and consider what direction you’d like to see the group go in.

Short-Term Goals

Use smaller, short-term goals to help you reach long-term goals. Without these stepping stones, those big goals can sometimes seem unattainable or intimidating. Breaking them into smaller goals will help keep you focused and on track.

Delegating tasks is a good way to avoid burnout for you and your team. While stress is not avoidable, you can end up stressed out due to false perceptions (thinking a deadline is earlier than it is, or thinking you are the only one who has to complete a huge task). 

Analyze Your Stress & Deal with It

Share these strategies with your members in preparation for high-stress times for your organization! You can really help them out just by giving some tips.

• Take the time to recognize the aspects that are causing you stress so that you can work on turning that negative stress into positive motivation.
• Manage your time by prioritizing tasks. Make time for relaxing, socializing, and doing things that you really enjoy. Reward yourself when you’ve earned it!
• Keeping organized will make it easier to find important information and eliminate unneeded, frantic stress.
• Map out your week by days and hours. Put all of your classes and meetings in a planner, then block out times for meals, studying, relaxing, and/or exercising.
• Remember to sleep!! Try not to compromise sleep when you realize that you need more time in the day to complete your tasks. Sleep deprivation can make you irritable and it might even slow you down throughout the day, making your life even more stressful.
• Learn to say “no” when you know that you just don’t have time to take on new tasks or projects. Taking them on when you really shouldn’t isn’t going to help anyone.
• There is no shame in needing to talk about your stress. Develop a support system of people that you can go to when you need to get things off your chest. Doane’s Counseling Center has two counselors, Myron Parsley and Kristal Flaming, who you can make appointments with to talk about your stress! You can make an appointment with Nurse Kelly or email them directly. You can check out the Counseling Center website here: https://web.doane.edu/offices-services/student-services/student-health/counseling

Procrastination is going to affect everyone at some point. Whether you’re putting off school work, working within your organization, or accomplishing personal tasks, procrastination usually does more harm than good. It will add more stress to your life and can ultimately minimize the quality of your work, especially when it comes to your organization functioning smoothly. If your expectation is that your fellow members won’t procrastinate, perhaps that is a good expectation to set early on.

Just Start

Eventually there comes a time when you just cannot put it off any longer. Do not let fear hold you back! Sometimes getting started is the hardest part, but once you get going, completing the tasks seems much more manageable.

Divide and conquer! Take time to divide up your tasks and tackle them separately. Completing one big project all at once can become overwhelming.

Start with a part that is believable. Beginning with something that is easier can help you start gaining momentum and confidence that you can complete everything on your plate.

Give yourself BIG rewards. If you complete a task that you were having a hard time sticking to, reward yourself big time! 

Avoiding Distractions

• Don’t use work as an excuse to avoid strong emotions you’re experiencing. If something is bothering you in your organization, academics, work, or your personal life, take the time to work through it. If you try to set them aside, they may influence how well you complete a task.
• If you’re the type to think of random thoughts or ideas while you’re trying to focus, just write them down and come back to them when you have time later.
• Don’t be afraid of, or intimidated by, your deadlines. Build in some extra time and always have a back-up plan. This will make your task easier to grasp.

Do you ever look around you and wonder how people can fit so many activities into their schedule, while others struggle just to complete coursework? It is not necessarily that some people are smarter or more organized. It might be that they are successfully managing their time.

Time management = self management. Only you can determine how much work you can achieve in the hours available to you! Throughout your day, ask yourself, “What is the best use of my time right now?”

Get Organized 

You’ll be able to manage your day more effectively if you stay organized. Start by making a list of what needs to be done in the day without thinking about what is most important – just get it all down.

Make Priorities 

Take the items on your list and consider what is most important. Perhaps “A” items are the ones that need to get done today; “B” are the ones that you should get done; “C” are the ones that you can defer to the next day.

Get a Specific Schedule

Look at your schedule for the day and try to fit in where you can work on you ABC list. Keep your schedule as flexible as you can, but also maintain some level of specificity to hold yourself accountable.

Be Intentional 

Remember to schedule in when you can sleep, get a meal or snack, take a break, or hang out with friends. Those times where you aren’t working are important to ensure that you’ll be able to maintain focus and productivity during the times when you are working.