I had a really difficult period of burnout in 2010/2011. I was a junior undergraduate, doing Neuroscience and computer science. I had three research positions,

I had a really difficult period of burnout in 2010/2011. I was a junior undergraduate, doing Neuroscience and computer science. I had three research positions, I TA'd, I worked as a tutor through the university, and I was completing an honors thesis in Neuroscience. I was obsessed with getting into a top PhD program, due to feelings of personal inadequacy. There was one semester in particular where I overloaded to 23 credits (12 being full-time) in order to graduate on time. I withdrew from friendships - some people thought that I'd transferred or graduated. I routinely worked 16 hour days, including weekends in the lab, and started having health problems that I didn't have time to properly address. Eventually, the quality of my work badly deteriorated. I somehow defended my thesis, and got interviews from several top-50 PhD programs. After flying out and visiting one program for a weekend, I realized that I needed a break from academia, at the very least. I withdrew from my obligations at university (I had plenty of credits to graduate), and moved to San Francisco. I feel so much more like my old self after a month of programming for fun with friends - my creativity and excitement are back. My advice: be aware of how you feel about your work. You can only loathe it for so long before it begins to take a toll on you. You're a human, not a machine, and you need to take care of yourself. Exercise regularly and spend time socializing with friends and meeting new people :)