2. Hocus Focus

I am a sucker for a good documentary. When I watched Pandemic on Netflix mid-February this year, I thought, "Damn, that's crazy." Only for the COVID-19 pandemic to completely stop the world and flip everyone's life upside down a few weeks later.

I was sitting at my desk for my on-campus job when I received the campus's email that school was closed until further notice that Friday evening in March. The rest of the Spring semester was awful. I was teaching myself finance (FINANCE!!!), and one of my professors gave up on the class and assigned one BS project for the remainder of the semester. I even dropped a class after a professor assigned more readings and homework to make up for class time (in what world is that okay!?).

I thrive off structure and being busy. Before the pandemic, I would be the first to leave my house and the last one to come home. I was on campus all day, every weekday. Being forced to stay home was a nightmare after the first week. Then I changed my perspective; I saw the pandemic as a blessing in disguise. Although I did love my routine, I'm sure I would end up crashing and burning. I was waking up at 5:30 every morning, taking my hour-ish commute to campus, and taking the late bus home every day. Summer came, the internships I had applied to were all "on-hold." I knew I would be miserable taking online classes, so I took the summer off to mentally prepare for my final year of college!

This semester is no different. I technically have hybrid classes and can go on-campus if I wanted, but why would I willingly drive downtown, pay for parking, and risk my health to sit in one classroom with ten other students. Plus, there is the whole having to find a study area to attend my other virtual classes if I cannot attend in-person classes. I also acknowledge that I am super blessed to be a business major and do not need to be in any lab to complete my degree. Props to you if you have to be in-person for your classes!

My attention span is horrible during online lectures. Virtual classes have been teaching me more about self-discipline than the actual class objectives. My desk is less than a foot away from my bed, and it is so much easier to get comfy in bed then sit at my desk chair. No matter how much your bed will try and seduce you to do work and just lay down for a little bit, don't create a bad habit! I found that by creating a space strictly for work and productivity made me focus and produce better output.

Keep your webcam on! It's so easy to do anything but focus when putting on your webcam isn't mandatory. Imagine yourself as a professor and having to stare and talk at a bunch of black screens. By being on camera, I check my phone less often and take better notes because I want to look and try my best to be engaged.

Set aside a max of an hour each week to write down all your assignments that are due. I have discussion questions, quizzes, assignments, and projects due at different times and dates every week. Every Monday morning, I open my school's portal and put in my Google Calendar all the tasks due that week. Also, remind yourself when an exam is approaching, so you aren't left to study last minute!

To me, nothing feels better than physically being able to cross off things on my to-do list or looking at all the things I accomplished at the end of the day. Invest in a planner, or get a simple notebook and create a to-do list for yourself every day. When you look back and see all that you completed, you will feel a sense of pride in what you achieved that day!

Last but not least, be easy on yourself. No one planned to deal with a pandemic. I have my days where I am mentally clocked out, and the last thing I want to do is sit in my room staring at my laptop. Write down affirmations, remind yourself who you are, write down your feelings, and reflect! This is temporary, and we are all doing the best we can given our circumstances.

Force yourself to create better habits. You are only cheating yourself and making it more challenging in the long-run by taking short-cuts or doing the bare minimum. That isn't to say you have to be at 100% every day, give the best you can and then push and give yourself 10% more. You are not alone; this time is frustrating. Reach out to a friend, reach out to me (!!!) everyone can relate to certain struggles, I promise. During my first week of school, I missed a discussion post and an assignment. I was so overwhelmed with every class's demands, but I learned from it and moved past it. Every day is a new start :)

Stay tuned for more blog posts and follow me on my other social media platforms. I appreciate you for reading and hope this post gave you some insight or sparked some motivation. I am proud of you!