Hello! How are all of you feeling today? Are you happy, sad, annoyed, or are you just ok? It’s ok to be feeling what you are feeling because I promise you, you are not alone!
During these very difficult times, I would find it quite shocking if anyone told me that they are doing 100% ok. This pandemic has tested our mental abilities to the max and it is still pushing. But please do not worry and certainly do not go crazy. Even though staying in doors is good to help protect ourselves and the rest of the world, I do understand that it causes mental harm within our own households. Whether or not it is a family member in your household who cannot mentally cope with this significant change, a friend/relative who is having a hard time adjusting, or even yourself. I am here to tell you that we are all in this together and I am here to share some tips with my fellow classmates/students on how to stay sane with all of these online classes.
Trust me, I have had my fair share of mini mental break downs and feeling completely overwhelmed to the point where I truly believed that I was drowning in my own work load and mental capacity. But I soon realized that I cannot let this pandemic take away my sanity. I mean, come on, it has taken away my social life… the least it could do is let me have my sanity. So I want to share with you different ways I managed to remain happy throughout these past couple of quarantined weeks!
1. Erase Board Calendar – yes, I invested in one of these and it has helped me significantly. I am able to write down when assignments or projects are due and even when I have Zoom meetings that I must attend. I have managed to keep my life organized this way and I have even worked on perfecting my time management skills. Plus, having fun with the color coding aspect really brings out your inner child.
2. Designated Homework Days – you may laugh now, but hear me out, ok? I have managed to designate 2 days a week that I dedicate completely to my homework and assignments and projects. This allows me to focus 100% on my studies and not be worried about whether or not I will get things done because I decided to be a couch potato. I allow myself to be stressed about these assignments for these two days a week and then the other 5 days I dedicate to feeling chillaxed and having fun with family.
3. Family Bonding Times – Keep in mind… you are not the only one that has had to change their daily routine completely. If you live with others, they have also had to adjust to working form home and being stuck. This is perfect because you can sit with them and help in work that they might be stuck in or they can provide you with help in any assignments that just you can’t seem to really understand. Or one major thing is that you guys can be each other’s support systems. You guys can tell and sense when a break is needed as well. So go out for a walk at sometime everyday, play some video games and have friendly competitions, bake something, or just sit there and talk/let each other vent about whatever is frustrating you. Trust me this helps a lot more then you think.
4. Stay Connected – Ok. Just because COVID-19 thought that it could just take our physical social life away, it doesn’t mean they can take our digital one. You still have friends out there who want to know how you doing and love you and miss you as much as you love them. Daily FaceTime calls, texting, and using programs, like sharing movie links on Netflix, are great ways to still keep in touch and hang out… maybe even make a tik tok. (don’t tell me its lame because I am sure your draft is filled with funny and pointless tik toks that you make to pass your time) Make it count and just keep those friendships alive, I promise you that your friends are probably feeling just the way that you are and a 5 hour FaceTime call from you would just make their day!
5. Stay Active – This is the last thing I have, I promise. But STOP TAKING SO MANY NAPS!!! Yeah you. I know what you been doing…
Workout, go outside, take a walk, and breath in some fresh air. I promise you it’s safe… the CDC confirmed that this disease is not airborne. So go out and keep those joints moving, so you don’t start feeling like you got grandpa joints. Start working out to keep your body active and fluid: workout with a family member, walk outside, go walk you pet, do a BBQ, clean outside. I don’t know, do SOMETHING!! Staying stuck within 4 walls can drive a person crazy almost like your own prison, and you absolutely don’t want that.
Please keep your head up people and reach out to others if you feel like you are going crazy. With all that’s happening, our unity is what is going to keep us alive and moving. So stop stressing and work on you mental health and stability because without it, we are just giving this COVID-19 pandemic another win. And I will not let that happen!!!