From the temptation of Netflix to the awkward lulls of video conferencing — attending school from your home comes with a lot of challenges. The Lily talked to two experts who are uniquely equipped to help answer some of your questions about this unusual time. Here are five tips to consider this summer as you plan for the possibility of another semester online in the fall.
Jump ahead to the noted time stamp if you want to go straight to one of these tips.
Don’t pressure yourself (2:49)
Nicole Beurkens, a Michigan-based psychologist who works with young adults, says that we’re going to feel unsuccessful if we expect to get schoolwork done perfectly during an unprecedented pandemic. “Having an expectation that you’re going to have it all figured out, not have any stress about it, be perfect at all of this — that’s an unreasonable expectation,” she says.
Feel for your teachers (3:31)
Sinitch urges students to remember that no one has had to deal with this before, including administrators and teachers. “What is actually really so special about this time away, even though we can’t see our students physically — we are going through something together,” she says.
Think about your time (3:54)
Beurkens says there are two benchmarks to look at. The first is if you’re getting all your work done on time. “If [you are] — then okay, maybe it’s not a problem.” Secondly, she says to ask yourself: “is what I’m doing working for me in terms of my stress, anxiety, overwhelm level? If the answer to both of those things is yes, then there’s really no need to change how you’re managing your time. What you’re doing is clearly working for you.”
Email your teachers (4:26)
Both experts say it’s important to talk to your teachers, especially if you’re having a difficult time. “If you can’t be able to help yourself and advocate for yourself and come to us as teachers, we really can’t help you,” says Sinitch. “I do think that takes a lot of courage for a student to do that. And I know it’s not always easy.” Beurkens says email is a good way to communicate with teachers. “Email allows us to compose … but then pause, edit it, maybe have a parent or somebody read through it.”
Learn new ways of coping (4:51)
Life is full of “times of less stress and times of greater stress,” says Beurkens. She says right now is an opportunity “to learn some new strategies and some new ways of coping.”
Those skills, she says, “are going to serve them really well as they move forward into adulthood. So that’s the silver lining.”
Watch more episodes of “The New Normal”
This senior was set on her dream school. Then covid-19 hit: https://youtu.be/w6lh_DrVBPE
5 tips on landing a job during the coronavirus pandemic: https://youtu.be/wdQO82a20L4
How to adjust to self-quarantine with your family during covid-19: https://youtu.be/dV0ev9sljg0
Graduations are being canceled during coronavirus. Four tips on coping: https://youtu.be/9ckG4GMwfFU
“The New Normal” is a series from The Lily and The Washington Post that talks about how to adjust to our new way of life during coronavirus, hosted by Nicole Ellis. Watch the full series: thelily.news/thenewnormal.
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