During a global pandemic, we have been forced to stay inside our homes in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus and many of us have also been hit with extensive levels of anxiety and stress. Staying at home does not seem like a difficult thing to do, however, it is much easier when you have nothing to do. Your home is your comfort zone; it is an environment where you can relax. A home is essentially the opposite of a workplace environment, therefore, when working from home it can be challenging to draw the line between work and home because there are less rules to abide by.

Since we are all unable to leave our homes, it has been a bit of a struggle to maintain our lives. Many of us have never worked from home or taken online courses before; there is a lot for everyone to get used to. Since the home environment can be so distracting, the idea of having to learn does not seem inviting at all. As for issues such as anxiety and stress, anxiety is someone’s response to a potential threat. Everywhere you look there is news about the coronavirus and how fast it is spreading, it is starting to appear as a major threat. The stress is a natural response to how uncertain things have become- stress because of finances, keeping up your grades or postsecondary admissions. Everything is happening all at once; there is a lot of uncertainty and distraction involved. Therefore, it has been difficult for us to stay motivated.

Personally, I never expected this to happen at all. At first, the pandemic had been a bit stressful because there was a whole two weeks where we had been advised not to work at all, every single one of my due dates for ongoing assignments had been pushed off and I had no idea what I was doing. My anxiety levels skyrocketed. The longer that I have been home the less I have been wanting to work. When you are at home, it can be hard to keep a routine. At school you have a set schedule, there is a designated time for everything. So now that we do not have that, it is especially difficult to stay on top of everything. However, after a few weeks of self-isolating, I have been able to conjure up a routine to keep up with my daily tasks and have time to myself. Below I have included some tips that have helped me along the way.

Establish A Routine:  Maintaining a routine can help you feel like you are in school again and help you manage your time wisely. This is essential to being able to stay motivated and keep up with everything. You can try using a calendar or creating a to-do list to organize the days that you want to work on a certain subject/assignment or the days that you would like to try to relax and practice self-care. Make sure to set deadlines for yourself and take breaks in between work so that you do not feel too overwhelmed, this can help you to manage the stress and anxiety.

Self-Care: Taking breaks when working is extremely important. If you have been working for a long time, it is perfectly normal to feel unmotivated or tired. Remember that when you overwork yourself, you will not perform to the best of your ability. So, if you need to take a few days to yourself then do it. For me, working out by walking on the treadmill helps me to clear my head. However, if you do not have an exercise machine or do not like to exercise reading or watching a movie can also help to get your mind off things and help you relax. Take this as a time where you can practice your hobbies and get more in touch with yourself.

Optimism is Important! Keeping a positive mindset is always important and helps during hard times like these. Try and get through your idea with the knowledge that we are all in this together. Everything will work out the way that it is supposed to. All you need to do is stay inside and self-isolate to stop the spread and flatten the curve. However, maintaining a positive attitude is not easy for everyone so remember to be patient with yourself and remember that it is normal to feel anxious or stressed at a time like this.

Sources:

https://www.welcometothejungle.com/en/articles/lack-motivation-during-corona-crisis

https://www.quebec.ca/en/health/health-issues/a-z/2019-coronavirus/stress-anxiety-and-depression-associated-with-the-coronavirus-covid-19-disease/