In case you’ve been living under a rock, I’ll be the bearer of bad news for you – there’s a novel coronavirus, COVID-19, going around and making many things difficult for many people. Because of this virus, my school, like many other schools, has made the difficult decision to switch to online learning for the rest of the semester.
While I agree with this decision, as it has the safety of students and staff in mind, I’m still pretty bummed. I purposely don’t take online classes for a reason; I always forget about them. Unfortunately, the reality is that I need to suck it up for the time being and finish my semester completely online. It’s not going to be easy, it is certainly not ideal, but I’m going to make the most out of my current situation. I thought of some easy tasks to incorporate into my daily routine, and if you think they will help you too, I encourage you to do the same.
Step 1: Actually Maintaining a Routine.
This one will be particularly difficult for me. Some people classify themselves as a “creature of habit,” but I would probably say that I am a creature of my depression, more often than not. I don’t say this to bring pity onto myself, but I know a lot of other people can relate – the combination of social distancing/staying home as much as possible and not being “forced” to get up for classes is a recipe for me to stay in bed for days at a time. It’ll be hard work, but I know that if I set a routine for myself, even a simple one, I can combat this. A pretty easy routine to follow could look something like this: 9:00 am – Wake up.
9:15 am – Take a shower.
9:30 am – Make myself breakfast.
10:00 am – Get dressed and brush my teeth.
10:15 am – Check my D2L account, emails, and start my school work for the day.
Step 2: Designating Different Areas for Different Things
This is something that I’ve already tried to do pre-COVID, but it is especially important now. Ideally, I’ll be able to set up different parts of my apartment, or different parts of my room, to be meant for use for different things. I plan on making sure I only use my bed for sleeping, my kitchen for making and eating food, my living room for homework, and my desk in my room for my creative outlets that I decide to do during self-isolation. By doing this, it makes me feel like I have control of my situation, and that if I need an escape from one part of my apartment, I’ll have one.
Step 3: Keeping in Touch
Speaking of feeling in control, I know that a lot of people who are going through this feel like they cannot control their surroundings or what is happening to them, myself included. It’s true that we are given instructions to stay inside and limit physical contact with others, but that doesn’t mean we can’t virtually or otherwise contact people. I’ve already talked with some of my friends about becoming pen-pals during this unprecedented time, just to feel the excitement of getting a letter again from a friend. It sounds corny, but honestly, if it makes me feel better about what’s going on, I’m down to try it.
As for school, I think it will be vital for me to stay in contact not only with professors, but with my classmates as well. I will still be able to ask the students in my cohort questions about the assignments we have been given, and they’ll be able to reach out to me if needed. Yes, online learning is kind of weird to navigate. At the end of the day, it’s still learning, and I shouldn’t expect to do it solely on my own. Finding approval or answers to questions from peers and classmates is an essential part of the learning experience.
This isn’t a huge all-encompassing list, but I hope you took some things out of it that might help you in the coming months, if you’re in a situation like me. The world is a weird and scary place right now, and to navigate something new like online learning is weird and scary in itself. I just want to remind everyone that even though it’s recommended that we isolate for a little while, that doesn’t mean we have to go through anything alone, even with schooling.