Seven Tips for Virtual School Preparation (Part Two)

Written by Minna Chow

Edited by Christina Linsley & Lucia Koo

Welcome back to Seven Tips for Virtual School Prep!

This part of the guide discusses the effects that virtual school can have on your body and mind. In that sense, it doesn’t technically talk about ways to prepare for virtual school. However, knowing ahead of time, the stresses that virtual school can cause can help you prevent them or ease them faster in the long run.

Virtual school lets us learn from the comfort of home, but that doesn’t mean it can’t come with its own challenges. It’s worth it to take the time to care for yourself! At the end of the day, all the productivity tips in the world won’t help you if you’re physically or mentally unwell.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

5. Take Care of Your Health

Virtual school can take a toll on your body if you’re not careful.

It’s tiring in the short term for sure. After all, you can only stare at a computer for so long before your brain calls it quits and your body riots. This is especially true if you’re completing low-engagement assignments such as reading articles or listening to a class lecture.

However, there are also some effects of virtual school that may be longer-lasting. If you plan to wear headphones or earbuds for your classes, prolonged use can make your ears sore. Spending all day at your computer can cause eye strain, and staying in one position for a large portion of the day can also lead to back and body pains. Virtual school can also incentivize unhealthy sleeping patterns further (as if we need the help!), and the blue light from your computer can make it difficult to get proper sleep.

There are several ways you can plan to help mitigate these effects.

• Having a consistent sleep and wake time will help you feel better rested.

• Frequent breaks from the screen and headphones will give your body a break it needs. Try not to plan back to back virtual meetings if you can help it!

• Going outside and getting fresh air is also useful, especially if you have enough time and space for physical activities like jogging or biking.

• Staying hydrated will help you stay healthier and happier. Personally, drinking something during class also helps keep me focused!

A lot of these recommendations also make it easier to be productive and happy, thus aids in a better performance at virtual school. It’s a win-win for all!

At the end of the day, listening to how your body feels at the end of each day or class can go a long way in preventing physical and mental strain.

6. Be Aware of How Isolating Virtual School Can Be

While it’s true that technology is making the world more connected, there are still wide gaps between social interactions and social-distancing interactions. Virtual learning makes it difficult to hold the sorts of private or group conversations we’d usually have in class, such as asking someone for help with a calculus problem or inquiring how a friend’s day has been.

Virtual learning also reduces a lot of built-in social time. In a usual school year, we’d be walking to classes with each other and gossiping over lunch, but none of that happens during virtual school. Online learning takes away many interactions, both small and big, that we’re used to. It can be challenging to maintain old friendships and especially difficult to make new ones in this atmosphere.

Even for those introverted by nature, the extent to which virtual learning causes isolation can slowly allow loneliness to creep up on you. It can be super easy to disconnect from the world and fall into a cycle of school, homework, YouTube, bed, and repeat.

Setting aside tests and studying for a moment can be disheartening on an emotional level to be this disconnected, which is never good.

My biggest advice here will be to reach out if you’re feeling lonely. Most people won’t mind if you send them a text to catch up—it’s quite the contrary, in fact! Your school might also offer opportunities to connect with your classmates.

And finally...

7. Be Kind To Yourself!

During the first few days of virtual school, it may be difficult to focus in class or understand the material. You might be stuck dealing with technical difficulties in class and feel overwhelming pressure. Maybe you feel hurt, betrayed, angry, cheated, and scared about this whole situation.

I want you to know that’s okay.

How you feel is perfectly valid during these times.

Like everything else, virtual school has a learning curve to overcome. You’re adapting to a whole new format of school! You’re also coming from a completely different schedule.

Sometimes, a learning curve can feel like hitting a brick wall, but things won’t always seem as confusing as they first appear. It’ll get better as time goes on, and your brain and body will begin to adjust to the new situation.

Try to be patient and kind with yourself while you adjust and with others, especially your teachers. They’re also adapting and working on a whole new model of school.

At the end of the day, we’re all doing the best we can.

Note: If you start having long-term problems that negatively affect your grades or emotional state, talk to someone. There are a lot of people who want to help you if you need it.

Ta-Da!

I hope this article has helped y’all prepare for a new semester of school!

We’re going to get through this one day at a time.

---

Minna Chow is a senior currently residing in the DFW area with a passion for the humanities and writing. She is excited to work with Strawberry Opportunities to help people make connections and achieve their goals. In her free time, Minna can be found playing the oboe, embroidering, or crocheting.