You Don't Have to Be Super Productive During a Pandemic

Yes, you read the title correctly.

We're adapting to a world of online learning. It's difficult to stay productive and motivated to work at home...we can all acknowledge that.

“There is virute in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither."- Alan Cohen

It's okay to not feel the same as when you did at school. We're all in this together.

The Struggle is Real

It seemed just like a day ago where we entered school for the first time in our lives as Juniors. We were officially part of the upperclassmen, and we were excited whether or not we would be stuggling day and night, pulling all-nighters for AP classes and SAT prep. BUT, we shared this burden of high school junior life together. I'll be honest, I survived my first semester as a Junior because of my cohort, the class of 2021.

March 2020, the moment where COVID-19 forced us into our homes scared us all. Our very first concern was whether we would be able to spend our last days as Juniors together. Unfortnately, the school year is already coming close to an end, so we won't be seeing each other. The year has not ended yet, so let's not call it the worst year ever.

Ever since schools and businesses have closed, articles about staying productive have been popping left and right. No hard feelings towards my teachers, but it also feels like the school workload had increased just so that we can be kept busy. Yes, school closed, but this doesn't make it any better for us. Staying at home 24/7 is just as hard as waking up at 6 in the morning to go to school. It's in fact harder because of the lack of social life. No matter how many zoom calls and instagram challenges that we may do together, it'll never be the same as talking to your friends and people in your life the same way. Yes, being productive is good. It's a great habit and a great way to learn to discipine yourself. But acknowledge that we're all struggling. Having no one to motivate and push us like we did at school is a real bummer. I'm just saying, it's okay to not check up on schoology or your emails! Take a step back, it's perfectly fine!

Look, I never said it's okay to not do assignments. Do it, but you don't have to be on top of your game all the time. Take it slow, get yourself some real rest. Whether we're working at home or not, BURNOUT is real. I'm pretty sure our sleeping schedule is pretty much ruined. I see all of ya'll instagram accounts, no need to deny this fact. Literally, 4:00 am became our usual 11:00pm. Anyways, do your work, but before school, prioritize yourself and your health. If you feel unmotivated, it's okay because that's completely normal. We're still teenagers. We shouldn't force ourselves to work prolonged periods of work without a day of break. It's okay to relax for a moment. Use this time for some self-care.

If you feel unmotivated, maybe it's because you have burnout. Once you rest and take care of your stress levels, you'll be able to be back on track. Before I end this, I just want to let you know that we're in this together. Let's finish Junior year strong! You got this!