Classes go online until January, our periods are now sixty minutes, ten minute passing periods, Book Day in our cars, no sports until December, JPD is online, etc… how could we possibly have a positive mentality during a time of such grief? Not to fear, this month’s Self Care 101 tips are here to get you out of this Zoom education funk and on a new path towards productivity, excitement, and success. 

Going into my junior year at Prep, I have spent a lot of my time dwelling on the fact that I won’t get to experience so many loved and cherished events and memories that all the prior upperclassmen had. Everyone on campus is feeling the exact same way—that feeling of internal sadness and longing for something that you didn’t even know you would want so badly. The good news is, you aren’t going through this funk alone and there’s a bright, shining light at the end of the tunnel. In order to take full advantage of our online education and to actually enjoy something that is so dreaded, we have to be in our best place mentally and physically. To make a change in our mentality towards online school, we have to implement forms of self-care into our everyday lives! Here are some of my  most effective and stress-relieving Self Care favorites…online school edition:

1. Don’t hit the snooze button until you only have five minutes left until your first class. Although online school allows us to gain an extra 30-45 minutes of extra sleep, it doesn’t give you an excuse to stay up until 3 a.m. watching Netflix. If anything, this is an opportunity that we should be taking to catch up on sleep. Instead of waking up five minutes prior to your first scheduled class, wake up 20 minutes earlier, make your bed, change out of those pj’s, grab a cup of your preferred morning beverage, eat some breakfast, and get settled at your desk. It may sound like a wasted twenty minutes of sleep, but those twenty minutes include the foundational steps to a good, positive, and productive morning. 

2. Make use of those ten minute passing periods! Instead of sitting and staring at your computer or phone for an additional ten minutes, get up, move around, refill your water and take a second for yourself. In reality, we are spending the majority of our days staring at screens, and not only is that bad for our eyes, but it can also be emotionally taxing. Our brains deserve a change of scenery and a different type of engagement, so go have a conversation with a parent or sibling, maybe return a missed call, or play with your pets. This time is well deserved and should be spent doing something relaxing! 

3. On top of your screen time going through the roof because of our zoom classes, we are also spending so much time on our computers to complete homework assignments. If you have the option to print an article out or can complete an assignment with paper and pen, take it. Reading and writing on paper uses different parts of your brain, therefore relieving the strain of your eyes and your head of the aches that it tends to get after a long day of online school. 

4. Stay motivated! This may sound hard as every day feels monotonous, but there are hundreds of things to look forward to, even in the rut of a Monday. During a week that looks pretty challenging, try thinking about your late start one day or your early dismissal the next. Days come and go very quickly, and we are already reaching the halfway mark of our first quarter. Try to push that negative energy away from your time-consuming assignments, and instead use it to think of how in just a few hours you’ll get to relax and get a good night’s sleep. Though these thoughts or shifts in mentality might not sound imperative, it is so common for negative moods to encompass your whole day. Try and go the extra mile to work around those discouraging thoughts, and I promise that you will see a difference in your attitude towards the rest of your school day! 

5. Stay organized! The more you let your documents, notebooks, flashcards, sticky notes, textbooks, and random papers get out of control, the more stressed you will become. Implement a system of organization that resembles your locker. If you still have your Book Day box, that’s the easiest way to keep everything in one place. Even though we aren’t in a physical school, it’s crucial to maintain a comfortable and effective organizational plan. That way, you don’t lose sight of those important papers or notecards. 

6. Keep hydrated. Water and its benefits to your mental health and brain function might not be of the utmost importance to you, but if you get in the habit of leaving a water bottle on your desk, you’ll notice that you’ll be drinking a lot more water and feeling significantly more aware and awake.