As we all know, a whole day of Zoom classes is exhausting! We’re sitting in our chairs, staring at a screen all day, and somehow even busier than we were before -- while staying at home. It’s easy and common to feel fatigued, drained, tired, or unmotivated these days, which in turn leads to us not being able to focus on our work or perform our best. To help you turn that around I’ve compiled 4 main pieces of advice that I think are really helpful for me to refresh and get through the day more easily. Taking care of yourself will always be more important than schoolwork, and these tips will help you excel at both!
1. Stay organized
This is a crucial step to clear your mind and be prepared for online schoolwork. One thing I do is bookmark all my classes’ Canvas pages and textbooks in my browser. This helps me navigate to them very easily when it’s time for class or homework.
Organization also means preparation and punctuality. Use these bookmarks to log onto class early in case you encounter any technical issues.
Lastly, write down important deadlines for homework, quizzes, projects, and exams in your planner or calendar. Since professors and classmates may forget to remind you in a virtual format, it’s important for you to stay on top of your tasks!
2. Show up!
Try to attend class live, if it’s possible. I know it’s hard, but put your phone somewhere far, far away so you can really focus on the lecture. Also, close out of the other 10 online shopping tabs you have open on your computer. It’s important to be physically AND mentally present in order to get the maximum worth of your education (that you’re paying so much for)!
In addition, try to participate in discussions and breakout rooms. Yes, it can be awkward, but you can strengthen your own public speaking and communication skills by stepping up and acting as a leader. Lastly, ask questions and make appropriate comments. If the professor’s screen is frozen, or they made an error, kindly point it out in the chat or unmute yourself if your professor is typically okay with that. Oftentimes there is an awkward silence while behind the scenes, everyone is wondering the same thing as you.
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3. Give your eyes a break
One thing I like to do is write in a paper planner. Something about physically writing out assignments and to-do lists helps me remember them, and I also use this time as a way to get off of a screen.
Another suggestion I have is to print out some readings or take notes on paper for some classes. It’s easy to download readings to your laptop or iPad, but that is still a screen that emits harmful blue-light and causes strain on your eyes. We get an allowance of around 900 free pages to print on campus per semester. Obviously, you do not need to max out on this or harm the environment, but printing out a few documents may give your eyes some much-needed rest.
4. Get your body moving
I know my posture looks like the shrimp emoji when I’m working at my desk. Hunched over with my neck and back, poring over assignments for hours on end. Every half an hour so, it helps me to drink water, do some quick stretches, or walk around my apartment if it’s too cold outside or I don’t have enough time. This helps uplift your mood, lets your mind relax for a little bit, and gets the blood flowing to your brain.
I hope these tips help you with online classes this semester, and hopefully they are some of our last! Just stay positive, and remember to focus on the things you can control, such as the ones I listed above. For more tips like these, subscribe to my blog and follow me on Instagram @life.with.ankita!
Haha, your comment about the shrimp emoji cracked me up!! Honestly so true though... Your tip to bookmark all the Canvas pages and online books is really smart. I also completely agree, it's so important to put away your phone and exit out of all other tabs! I admittedly am not very good at that sometimes... Thankfully I still have some in-person classes though, which are so much better!
Also, I wanted to invite you to come join my new College Creator Linkup! It goes live every Thursday and is a place for college bloggers to come link up their most recent posts and meet other bloggers our age. You can read more about it and join here: https://gracefulrags.com/2021/02/11/introducing-the-college-creator-linkup/
Thanks…