The sudden outbreak of Covid-19 has created an upheaval in our lives on a never-before-seen scale, putting people out of a job, inflicting massive economic damage, and harming our collective mental health. Stress lingers around my heart whenever news about Covid-19, triggering my helplessness, which comes from the terrible idea that our lives will be forever changed in a way none of us can predict now. Whatever negative emotion you are experiencing, please know that it is entirely normal, and it is nothing to be ashamed of. For me, the past months that I have been quarantining could be the most disorganized, dreary, and unproductive times of my life. I messed up a lot because I was always stressed out while needing to maintain momentum for school work in a distance-learning system. Searching for the silver lining, however, I also found that there are many valuable lessons that at least I could learn from this experience, and maybe you too.

1. The Importance of a Detailed Plan:

A detailed plan becomes even more crucial when we are left to manage our time entirely, as we did in quarantine. Suddenly, our class times are cut short, and our workload outside of class time has increased, forcing us to rely on ourselves to use our time wisely. Speaking from experience, I would immediately hop on video games every day as soon as the class was over at 12:10 p.m. The thought that I have so many hours left to do my work relaxes me immediately, ridding me of any guilt that I might otherwise have had I been given a tighter schedule. What ended up happening, however, was that I often realized that I would need to hurry through my work at around 9 in the evening, at which time it is much harder to muster up my will to begin working on them. As a procrastinator, kick-starting at any work is the most challenging part, and its effect got amplified by me thinking that I have all the time in the world.

First of all, making a plan provides you with a more accurate and calculated assessment of the amount of work you have to do. Often, when I am making a plan, I suddenly realize that I am actually on a pretty tight schedule. Secondly, it allows you to relax completely during your free time because you know exactly when you should begin working on finishing assignments on time.

2. Getting a Headstart on Difficult Work:

As I said before, starting work is the most challenging part. Having to will myself to begin reviewing Calculus packets and working on the problems is sometimes harder than the work itself. I approached work by starting on all of them, so that I had overcome the most difficult phase once and for all.

3. Prioritize Your Happiness:

I have never really had an obsession with nature, so I chose to stay mostly inside during quarantine. However, my actions met with an unfavorable response that emphasizes the mental or physical benefit that being in nature could bring. I complied and did not feel much better. I continued my semi-hermit lifestyle. So far, I can proudly say that I have not gone insane. When quarantine forces us to spend much more time with our family, unwanted clashes will occur, such as the one I just described. My idea here is to let everyone know that our differences could be more significant than we realize and that some activities that work so well for us might be entirely unbearable for others. While you think you are doing you the best for your loved ones, you may be stressing them out. In this particular time, I urge everyone not to interfere in each other’s lifestyle so long as they do not pose significant harm or seem incredibly unhealthy. Staying happy is more important than ever.