You’re four weeks into the fall semester. Maybe you’re a freshman and getting adjusted to balancing classes and partying with friends. Or maybe its senior year: you’re an academic veteran with a secure job or graduate program waiting for you, and you’re taking it easy with peers. Perhaps you’re somewhere in the middle, networking for the right research or part-time fall internship, organizing the next event for the club you’re spearheading with your best friend.
Then you wake up and remember, no matter where you are in your studies, you’re physically stuck on Zoom in your home, trying to make the most of a sub-optimal situation. We are all in the same boat. As a post-baccalaureate student, I know the feeling of expecting an in-person experience; a chance to interact with professors and explore the university library for your perfect study spot.
After sulking for a bit, we are forced to accept the current reality and then ask, “now what?” Covid-19 should not hinder your ability to be a successful student, nor impede your ambitions and dreams. When this apocalyptic episode ends, there will be winners and losers. There will be those who took advantage of their circumstance, becoming more resilient, disciplined and empathetic. There will also be those who squandered an opportunity for real growth and personal progress, both academically and socially. Ironically, it is precisely the variables we feel have been most detrimental that provide the most opportunity for growth and learning.
Given that I have been online since May, here are four small habits that I have incorporated during Covid-19, allowing me to succeed as a student in this new age of online learning and social isolation. You can too!
1. Get Dressed!
The stereotypical student or employee in a blazer and boxers can end an ambitious day early. How you dress affects how you feel — it’s as simple as that. When you put on a proper outfit first thing in the morning as if you were going to lecture on campus, you hold yourself to a higher standard of productivity. Your day has a purpose and is goal-oriented. Lounging in PJs engenders an atmosphere of laziness, sleepiness, and an overall, inert existence. Going on a walk first thing in the morning can help jumpstart your day and force you to put on something more fitting for the outside world.
2. Stay Consistent, Build Habits!
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
~ Will Durant, paraphrasing Aristotle
Success is incremental. It is the countless days of small amounts of work without any recognition or praise. That process has a backbone: consistency. It doesn’t matter if you don’t need to wake up for class on Thursday because your Professor canceled the lecture: get up at the same time you do every other Thursday. Our brain works better when it recognizes patterns and systems. This is especially true in the time of Covid-19, when schedules are shifted, and the world around us is inconsistent. Having a dependable schedule, even on the weekends, is something we can each count on even when other things are erratic and variable. Building habits now, as a student, will put you far ahead of the curve and allow you to achieve your goals.
3. Be Physically Distant, Not Socially Distant
If there is one misconception about Covid-19’s social distancing protocols, it is that social distance means anti-social. This is wholly incorrect and a dangerous perspective. There is no denying that social interactions are a healthy part of life and can be rejuvenating, allowing for optimal productivity and effectiveness during the week. A plethora of evidence exists around the positive aspects of healthy relationships and social interactions. Lucky for us in the 21st century, the world is more connected than ever, supplying us with applications to stay connected. Try your best to connect with fellow students over Zoom and call those peers you may have lost touch with. Email your professors and network with those in your prospective fields — people are much more willing to meet over Zoom from the comfort of their homes for 30 minutes than meet for coffee for what could be hours. Covid-19 provides a means of reaching those that otherwise would not be accessible. Again, these are just initial suggestions, but the process of accepting the consequences of Covid-19 and investigating ways to take advantage of the unique predicament is a valuable exercise. This pandemic serves as an opportunity to develop a skill and process that will create a blueprint of preparedness for future uncertainty and disappointment.
4. Stay Active
Spending the entire day indoors, at a single desk, can drive anyone off the edge. It is for this reason that exercise is more vital than ever during this period. Before Covid-19, the lives of most Westerners were already relatively sedentary, but at least we were forced to leave the comfort of our homes and commute to work or school. This often allowed for some amount of movement and engagement with the world. In the current state of the world, the potential ease of hibernation is a default. We must stay home. Therefore, time spent actively can allow for a respite from the back pain and lethargy that inevitably exists in quarantine. Staying active even affects our moods, dispositions and sleep cycles by releasing endorphins that increase mood and reduce perceptions of pain. It is exercise that can allow for further regulation and an outlet that takes us away from the noise that invariably fills the rest of our days during this unregulated epoch.
Implementing these four initiatives will not only help you stay focused during school but have the potential to be implemented in a multitude of other areas of your life, allowing for a more focused day, week, month, and ultimately, life.
