The COVID-19 Pandemic has really changed the game for both Higher and K-12 education. How do we keep students and ourselves engaged and motivated? Social distancing, quarantine, and stay-at-home orders are being reinstated and expanded all over the globe. Many students, parents, teachers, faculty, and administrators are accepting the reality that we will be working and learning remotely for the foreseeable future. How do we stay motivated during this unprecedented and ever-changing time, even while we try to keep some semblance of normalcy within the new normal?
1. Set small daily goals
This helps you feel productive. Big goals may seem overwhelming, so instead focus on smaller targets that you can tackle and cross off your list while staying on track to your larger goals. For example, do your assigned reading for a class, write the first draft of a paper, or knock out a class discussion response. Make a to-do list.
2. Schedule out time in your day for relaxation/distraction
It's hard enough that you have many tempting distractions while learning from home, many of them right in the next tab on your computer, or the cell phone at your fingertips. Make sure to not only schedule when you will do work, but also when you will take a break, and/or relax, and take it!
3. Apply the Pomodoro Technique to Virtual Study Sessions
When being on campus was a thing, we had the motivation of being surrounded by friends and colleagues while doing our work. Now we are online, use technology! Thanks to Zoom, Teams, Google Hangouts, you can still study with friends virtually.
Try a Pomodoro group study session. The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method that uses a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. There are apps, such as Tomato Timer, that measure Pomodoro sessions for you. A group of friends can get together on Google Hangouts for a study session. When the 25-minute block begins, work “together” silently on Hangouts. At the end of the 25 minutes when your five-minute break begins, take the time to chat together until the next study session starts.
4. Schedule Virtual Playdates (Adult or Kid)
Social distancing has been the hardest part of this pandemic. Not getting to spend time with friends can be tough for anyone at any age. Social distancing doesn’t have to mean no social life. Schedule virtual playdates with your friends or for your child and his friends. Do it often! It makes a difference. Try Happy Hour on Fridays or a virtual game night.
5. Put Your Mental Health First
It's hard to stay motivated these days when anxieties are so high, and stressful events are happening all around us every day. Take care of yourself and encourage your child to do the same. Be sure to move every day. Take a walk, do a Yoga class or Zumba. Stop and enjoy your meals. Go to bed at a reasonable time each night. Enjoy social media in moderation and try not to listen to news about the pandemic all day. It only heightens anxiety.
6. Be patient with yourself
Some days it may be difficult to focus any at all. On those days just try to do the highest priority items on your list of tasks, what’s due tomorrow or today and take the time you need to feel better. We really can’t beat ourselves up for being less productive than we need to be right now. Staying motivated can be touch-and-go, but you can help make it a bit easier for yourself by setting realistic schedules and taking time for self-care. The pandemic feels as if it will never end but there have been pandemics before this one, and it will eventually pass. By intentionally staying motivated, we can help ourselves and our children stay focused on the positive and not on the stress of the times, so we can continue to succeed in our studies and in life.
Juliet