Finding Focus When You Have The Coronavirus Blues

By Kendall Weems, PR/Media Coordinator, Fall 2020

You probably heard it enough, so I’ll keep it brief; the past six months have been a huge dumpster fire. So many aspects of our lives have been shook up and rearranged that it’s hard to keep your focus at times. 

I know one aspect of my life that has suffered is my focus on school. Ever since I’ve been at home with my family, my brain has been scrambled eggs. Instead of chilling in the library between classes, like I would do normally, I might be sweeping the floor because my dad told me to or listening as he watches his favorite football team fail miserably. If this sounds at all relatable to you, finding a good school day routine might be crucial to performing at the top of your abilities this semester. 

We’ve all heard the advice of not taking classes in bed and staying in your pajamas all day, but here are a few more tips to really help you get back in the swing of things.

Cancel out the noise.

Investing in a quality pair of headphones might be the difference between passing with flying colors and falling face first. When you can’t control your surroundings, you can at least control how much of your surroundings are a distraction. Listening to calming study beats or nature sounds as background noise, is much more effective than listening to your parents blast Stephen A. Smith on ESPN or your roommate watching reality tv.

Reset outdoors.

I know being cooped up in a house or an apartment all day can have you feeling restless and unable to focus. I highly recommend taking a walk outside for around twenty minutes to get the blood flowing so you can restart your brain. Pick a good playlist and go at whatever pace feels good so that you’re ready to go for more learning.

Set a bedtime and stick to it.

For those that have late classes, going to bed at 4am and waking up at noon can seem like an attractive option in comparison to waking up at 7am. While this might be the case, it could also be setting you back. Though this may be acceptable behavior for the summer time, going to bed right before the rooster crows may make you sluggish and unproductive during the day. Plus, having more time during the day to get your work done will mean less stress later on! While you don’t have to wake up at the break of dawn, waking up even an hour or two earlier every day can make a huge difference in your productivity levels.

Mix it up!

Having a dedicated work/study space is essential for staying on top of things, but staying in one spot all day for work doesn’t feel very motivating either. When we’re on campus at school, we move to various places throughout the day to get to our classes, so why not try that at home and create multiple zoom spots? If you have the option, you could possibly have one class at your normal work desk and another class at the dining room table, or another in the living room. Even if you only have one possible dedicated study space, you could change it up by shifting the angle for different classes, or changing your setup so it feels like you’re somewhere new.

Destress away from your phone.

Let me be the first to say that Tik Tok has absolutely ruined my focus and is possibly my number one distraction this semester. While it can be loads of fun, it doesn’t exactly leave me feeling productive. I recommend finding hobbies outside of your phone to help destress, so that you can be 100% focused during school. Doing things like knitting, reading, listening to podcasts, and doing art will stimulate your brain while also leaving you feeling relaxed and recharged.

Doing all of these things can help increase your productivity and help you get out of that pandemic funk. Small changes to your everyday schedule can be the catalyst you need to get your study groove back, so you can feel motivated even when you are stuck at home.