Overcome The Overwhelm of College Work
How can you overcome overwhelm while not being on campus?
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College is already overwhelming because so much is on your plate, but now factor in having to do all of your school work from home and you might be REALLY overwhelmed. I get it. This is a really hard time for a lot of people, including the students. One day, everything was normal – you were hanging out with your friends, you were learning in school, and you were able to attend in-person tutoring sessions. Now, everything has changed in a blink of an eye. If you are a freshman in college, this is probably even scarier for you. Overcoming the overwhelm of college work while not being on campus is possible, I promise. Here are a few tips to do so:
Host Weekly Zoom Calls
Gather up a group of your friends and have a weekly zoom call with all of them. If you are in the same boat as the rest, you can all talk to each other about your struggles. Plus, you can hopefully bring some positivity into the lives of your peers and they will do the same for you. If you have a question about a class or a project, these might be the people to ask – the people who can help you. Even if you are not in the same classes, if you just talk with people that can relate to your situation, it could help you (mentally) a lot. While hosting weekly zoom calls will not help you feel totally normal, it’s a great way to connect with people going through the same thing.
Set Aside Time
Your next step will be to set aside time. What do I mean by this? Take time out of your day and devote it towards studying and completing school work. It’s easy to skip over what you need to do if you do not have time blocked out, but by setting aside time, you almost force yourself into sitting down and taking out your books. If you are having trouble doing this, ask someone to keep you accountable. Maybe this will be a friend – you could FaceTime while both studying, or maybe this is a family member who nags you until you finally do sit down. Either way, ask for help if you need it!
Focus On Your Mental Health
Staying home is not the easiest for our mental health, either. A lot of high school seniors (going into college) are struggling since they did not get to say goodbye to their friends, or celebrate their achievement. Unfortunately, this is causing an increase in stress, depression, and other mental health issues, as well. If you are struggling with your mental health, please figure out what you need to do in order to improve it. Maybe this means seeing a counselor? If you are a student at The University of Georgia, there is a local counseling service there called Ray of Hope Counseling Services. They offer therapy in Athens, as well as online therapy, so you don’t even have to leave your house! Ray of Hope Counseling Services is still open right now for in-person sessions while adhering to social distancing guidelines, but they also offer tele-health and online appointments, as well.
When choosing a therapist at Ray of Hope Counseling Services, review each therapist first and see who might be a good fit for your specific set of problem(s). Each therapist at Ray of Hope Counseling Services is licensed and educated in order to best help you, as well as being capable of providing an excellent level of care. In addition to their licenses, the therapists at Ray of Hope Counseling Services also have additional training and/or hold certifications in their specialty area(s). The staff has diversified professional work background and experiences that help them treat a wide variety of issues and they always strive to help their clients meet their life changes and challenges in a comfortable and supportive environment. If you are stuck at home in Athens (or other locations around Georgia!) and are struggling with your mental health, please reach out to Ray of Hope Counseling Services today!
Keep A Routine
This goes hand and hand with my tip on setting aside time, but it digs a bit deeper. In addition to setting aside time, keeping a routine throughout this process is very important for your school work and especially for your mental health, too. When you are home 24/7, it can be really easy to stay up too late, sleep in way too late, or get thrown off on your time, but try your best to keep a routine so that this does not happen. Set a time to wake up, follow through with your normal morning routine (shower, stretch, workout, make coffee, eat breakfast, or whatever it might be!), and continue to follow some sort of schedule each day. Obviously, do not be too hard on yourself and give yourself a bit of time for error and mishaps, but all you can do is try your best! Keeping a routine will help you stay motivated and on-track during this entire situation.
Get Online Tutoring
Needless to say, trying to learn on your own at home can be really hard. If you need a tutor, plenty of places are offering online tutoring now, so take advantage of that! Some schools are offering free online tutoring sessions and other businesses you do have to pay for it (but sometimes, you get more out of the ones you have to pay for). However you choose to do online tutoring, make sure that it’s a priority if you are struggling. Also, don’t forget to reach out to your teacher because there might be something he or she can do in order to help you while you are learning from home.
Keep A List Going
A great way to stay on-track and make sure that you are getting everything done is to keep a list going. Each week, add to this list and take off things that you have already done. This way, you will not forget anything that you need to do. You can add school work, study time, reminders, and even house projects or social items to the list.
Have Fun
Last but not least, have some fun. If you are too hard on yourself, you are going to get overwhelmed. Take the time to sit down and just do nothing. Take some time to sleep in every so often (just don’t make it a habit every single day!). You deserve it!
Learning from home is not the easiest, but you can do it! Figure out what works for you and crush this year!! You’ve got it!
