Throughout any school year, it’s common for both educators and students to become overly stressed, overwhelmed with projects, tests, and yes, even that club that was supposed to be just for fun. Over time, they begin to lose focus. This phenomenon is expected to be especially common this school year. Students are facing unprecedented challenges and uncertainties, from online learning and socially distanced classrooms to lost break time due to shortened academic terms. However, there are a number of steps students can take and keep in mind to continue to have a successful year.
- Organization and Planning – Building and maintaining a plan that works for your academic and personal goals will be an important part of maintaining academic engagement and success. Roadblocks like online learning may make it more difficult to mentally separate class time from homework time, or even social time. By creating a clear and organized schedule of daily tasks, assignments, and goals students can feel prepared and ready to tackle each and every school day. Taking this proactive rather than reactive approach to managing students’ overwhelming academic and personal stress is key to lasting success.
- Social Support – Researchers from Wright State University suggest that college students with sufficient social support from family and friends benefit greatly from having this emotional outlet. These support systems are unique as they can offer students a variety of coping methods. While in-person contact may be restricted, it’s important students make time for virtual or socially distanced meet-ups, extracurricular activities, or other forms of engagement outside of the classroom. Shifting the focus away from academics, even if just for a few hours, will help keep students driven and attentive come class time.
- Healthy Balance – As students face the many challenges of this school year, balancing all aspects of student life is essential. And we really mean all. From academics and social time to seemingly less relevant items of your daily routine like sleep schedules, nutrition, and exercise. These components are all fundamental to achieving your goals each day, week, and quarter. Keeping up and getting ahead on academic tasks and responsibilities, students can create a schedule of balance through which they’ll have time to play outside, take a walk, have regular, nutritious meals, and get at least 8 hours of sleep each night. Maintaining physical and mental wellbeing, particularly during this unique time, will be key to a balanced student life and preventing burnout.