With COVID-19, many students were forced into completely online learning. This type of learning is not conducive with all learning styles and is especially difficult for students that are used to the typical in-person style classes.
Being a student myself, I found it extremely difficult in the beginning, but have since discovered a lot of methods to deal with stress and make school more manageable. Here are some tips I’ve got for you.
1. Making Sure to Get Adequate Rest
Skipping out on getting the suggested 7 to 9 hours of rest each night, continuously, is only playing into that stress more. Getting decent sleep is something you can schedule and having that fog-free mind after a good night’s rest is so valuable when taking on the day’s tasks and assignments.
2. Exercising
You might have rolled your eyes just now, but I guarantee you exercise is so beneficial for your mental health. It aids in improvement for many different issues like stress, memory retention, sleep patterns and your overall mood. You don’t have to be a pro hitting the gym everyday either, it can simply be an outdoor walk for 30 minutes or doing beginner’s yoga. As long as you’re getting up and moving, celebrating your body’s ability to move, you’re doing better by giving yourself that mental break and enjoying the natural serotonin boost.
3. Eating Well
This one gets a little trickier as it’s not one simple change but more of a lifestyle change. While no one is saying you can’t indulge in food you have a craving for, the fact is just that when eating healthier foods and maintaining a well-balanced diet you may experience clearer thinking, more alertness, and better concentration and attention span. All of which would improve your online learning experience.
4. Staying Social
Personally, I find that bouncing off of other students’ approaches to different assignments and what they found worked for them, aids me in my own approach and understanding of an assignment. This kind of student to student socialization within the educational experience motivates a deeper understanding of what is asked and yields more personal application in course concepts and theories.
5. Staying Organized
I have found that, on top of keeping an updated planner of school assignments, making a to-do list at night for the next day helps me to stay motivated to get it done and helps me visualize my day. These to-do lists often include generous breaks for meals, working out and phone breaks. This way, I can still have my mental breaks spread out through the day in between schoolwork. It has been extremely helpful when balancing my mental health and productivity.