Here at Colgate, we started our semester with a mandatory two-week quarantine where we have to do completely online classes until September 8th. After this period is over, some classes switch to in-person, hybrid, or they stay completely online. I would say that I lucked out in that only one of my classes is fully online, and the rest are hybrid or fully in-person. With the pandemic, it definitely brings with it a lot of uncertainty, which can make it difficult to adapt to our new environments of learning. During the quarantine and after, there are some things that my family unit and I have been doing in order to stay focused and adapt to our new normal.
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Know when to take a break! It is so easy to never stop working when there are no events or clubs to break up your day. Picking specific times in the day to exercise, watch Netflix or bake some cookies is a great way to find something to look forward to during a long day.
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Using all of our allowed outdoor time. My family unit and I tend to make it a point to go on group walks during outdoor time to get some fresh air and say hi (socially distanced, of course!) to some of our neighbors for extra socializing.
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Get out of bed. Especially doing remote classes, it can be hard to find spaces in your dorm room to do work that isn’t your bed. Even with a desk, it is so tempting! It’s important to separate your “relaxing” time from your “working” time and doing work in bed can make it more difficult to fall asleep.
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Make yummy food. If you are like my unit and I, you know making food can be a challenge. Getting yourself to avoid the foods that bring down your energy and instead choosing what will keep you energized is definitely more work, but it is so worth it (and it’s a great study break).
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Make a to-do list. Maybe the most important thing to keep yourself motivated while doing remote classes is prioritizing. Breaking up work and trying not to procrastinate will make it so much easier to do work when you are at the most productive time of the day. This also makes it guilt-free to cross of your last task and turn on a movie!
Hopefully soon, this new normal can really start to feel like normal, and these tips can keep you motivated even when you’re feeling the most tired and down.