Distance Learning, Time Management, and Stress

 Covid Changed The Way I Work

I thought I had my school routine all figured out when I started my Spring 2020 Semester. I had my school planner and my work planner all set up, my google calendar with my class times and work schedule all synced with my devices, and I had my routine altogether and it worked well for me. I knew when I needed to leave my house for class and about how long it would take me to drive to work from campus and I knew about what time I would be home each day to begin my homework. Since covid happened, I have had to change the way that I learn and the ways I keep a productive school schedule.

We Are All In The Same Boat

Being home away from campus and away from all my friends and my comfortable routine has been difficult, to say the least, and I know I am not the only one who feels that way. Now we are having to manage our zoom meetings, time to do classwork, time to work from home, make time for any kind of social interaction, and maybe go outside all while being in the same room. It has become difficult to see where the time goes even when it is right in front of us on our phones and computer screens. We can all see why 2020 seemed to be the longest year ever.

The stress I have felt due to my inability to keep time while distance learning has been substantial, and I know I am not the only one. It is as if all the time flies by when our whole day is spent on the computer and in the same room. I began wondering what kind of stress this is and if I should be worried that I am the only one not coping well with it. 

So many college students are dealing with the same things and the struggles that have come with distance learning. So, I narrowed down the type of stress I am dealing with in association with time management, and have created a few ways to handle it. This regular/routine stress is completely normal and expected considering the state of things, so it will be the type of stress I will address throughout the rest of this blog with one exception, which will come in the next post. After that, we are going all-in on time management and the types of strategies I have used, and how they worked/did not work.